Airtel Africa Reports $1.41bn Full-Year Profit as Customer Base Grows

Airtel Africa Plc has recorded strong profitability for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, with pretax profit rising 114.67% year-on-year to $1.41 billion.

This performance was supported by revenue growth to $6.4 billion from $4.9 billion, driven mainly by data revenue of $2.5 billion and voice revenue of $2.3 billion.

In addition, mobile money contributed $1.08 billion to revenue, while other business segments accounted for the remaining share of the company’s topline performance.

This was supported by an expanding customer base, which grew by 10.5% to 183.5 million, with data customers rising to 84.2 million as smartphone penetration improved by 4.7% to 49.5%.

Commenting on the performance, Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, said,“Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies” across operations.

A closer look at the topline shows full-year revenue of $6.4 billion, with East Africa mobile services contributing the largest share at $2.1 billion.

• Nigeria mobile services followed with $1.59 billion, outperforming Francophone Africa mobile services, which generated $1.54 billion.
• Mobile money accounted for the remaining $1.08 billion, rounding off the group’s diversified revenue streams.

Among key revenue drivers, data sales rose to $2.5 billion from $1.8 billion, with East Africa contributing $930 million, Nigeria $820 million, and Francophone Africa $780 million, reflecting its growing importance in the business mix.

• According to the company, data demand remained robust, with average usage per customer increasing to 8.9 GB monthly from 7.0 GB previously.

Voice revenue also strengthened to $2.3 billion from $1.9 billion, supported by East Africa at $1.06 billion, Francophone Africa at $638 million, and Nigeria at $613 million.

After these revenue segments were reported, total expenses of $4.3 billion were accounted for, including network operating costs of $1.1 billion and depreciation of $1.04 billion, resulting in operating profit of $2.1 billion, up 45.16% year-on-year.

Down the line, pretax profit stood at $1.4 billion after net foreign exchange losses of $149 million, hyperinflationary losses of $17 million, and other expenses.

Post-tax profit then settled at $813 million from $328 million after income tax of $606 million, while earnings per share increased to 18.6 cents from 6.0 cents, reflecting the group’s improved bottom-line performance.