Airtel Africa Rides Data, AI and Mobile Money Growth to Record FY26 Performance

Airtel Africa PLC Group revenue in reported currency increased by 29.5% to $6,415m, with constant currency growth of 24.0% for the financial year ended March 31, 2026. East Africa’s revenue grew by 18.9% in reported currency to $2,192m and by 13.8% in constant currency.

Reported currency revenue growth exceeded constant-currency growth, reflecting currency appreciation across most markets. In Q4’26, constant currency revenue growth of 22.3% was lower than the previous quarter (Q3’26) as we lapped the impact of the Nigeria tariff adjustments implemented during Q4’25. FY’26 constant currency revenue growth was driven by Nigerian revenue growth of 47.5%, East Africa growth of 17.8%, and a strong performance in Francophone Africa, which saw revenue growth accelerate to 17.1% in the current financial year compared to 9.5% reported in 2024/25.

Mobile services revenue of $5,350m increased by 27.6% in reported currency and by 22.6% in constant currency. Constant currency growth was led by voice revenue growth of 12.8% and data revenue growth of 35.2%. Mobile money revenues grew by 36.3% in reported currency and by 28.4% in constant currency, driven by strong growth in East Africa and Francophone Africa.

Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, on the trading update:

“This year delivered a very strong performance across both operating and financial metrics, reflecting the attractive industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers across our footprint. This backdrop, and the continued success of our strategy contributed to our highest level of customer additions, revenue and EBITDA growth. Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide‑ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site‑level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding and accelerating the rollout of myAirtel app, a single-touchpoint customer interface designed to streamline service adoption and deliver a more intuitive digital journey. This focused strategy has contributed to a further 22% increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50% increase in data traffic and, together with another strong Airtel Money performance, supported a step-up in constant‑currency revenue growth to 24.0%.

Airtel Money has made strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion and product innovation this year. Customer engagement continues to deepen, with app transacting customers up 74% and annualised TPV of over $215bn in Q4’26. Market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the anticipated timing of the Airtel Money IPO. We have made good progress and remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow, with the intention of undertaking the IPO in the second half of 2026.

Our ongoing cost efficiency programme and strong top-line performance both contributed to underlying EBITDA margins of 49.3%, peaking at 50.3% in Q4’26. The recent increase in energy costs arising from the ongoing geopolitical events will likely lead to increased cost inflation, resulting in EBITDA margin pressure in the near-term. However, with a strong growth outlook, and an enhanced focus on cost efficiencies, we will look to limit the overall impact on our business.

Our accelerated investment strategy remains focused on maximising value from our core growth businesses, while investing in new and fast‑growing areas, including enterprise, that will further advance both digital and financial inclusion and help transform communities across our footprint. I want to say a particular thank-you to our customers, governments, regulators and partners for their support and our employees for their ongoing contribution to our continued successes.”

East Africa revenue grew by 18.9% in reported currency to $2,192m and by 13.8% in constant currency. Higher reported currency revenue growth as compared to constant currency was primarily due to appreciation in the Zambian kwacha, Ugandan shilling and Tanzanian shilling. The constant currency growth was made up of voice revenue growth of 12.5% and data revenue growth of 18.0%.

Voice revenue growth was supported by customer base growth of 8.7% and voice ARPU growth of 2.2%. Customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both network coverage and our distribution network.

Data customer base growth of 15.7% and data traffic growth of 50.3% were the primary drivers of data revenue growth. We continue to invest in our network and expand our 4G and 5G network services in the region. Over 2,200 sites are 5G enabled across five key markets, following the rollout in Malawi in Q4’26. Data usage per customer increased to 8.0 GB per customer per month, up by 28.0%, with smartphone penetration increasing by 4.3% to reach 46.6%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 9.8 GB per month compared to 7.8 GB per month in the prior period.

Operating highlights

• Through our sustained commitment to enhancing the customer experience, backed by continued investment in our network and the integration of digitisation across the business, we delivered a very strong performance. Our customer base increased by 10.5% to 183.5 million, marking the highest net additions to date. Data customers grew by 14.8% to 84.2 million as smartphone penetration rose another 4.7% to 49.5%. Data demand remains robust with data usage per customer increasing to 8.9 GB per month from 7.0 GB in the prior period, underpinning constant currency^[1]growth of 16.2% in data ARPUs, reflecting the strength of our digital focus and customer first approach.
• Airtel Money continued to scale and deepen engagement, with an expanded customer base of 54.1 million, up by 21.3% year‑on‑year. Broader use cases and higher adoption across the digital platform drove 49% growth in annualised total processed value (TPV) to over $215bn in reported currency in Q4’26. This ongoing ecosystem expansion and increased customer activity supported an 8.6% uplift in constant‑currency ARPU, underscoring Airtel Money’s growing role as a trusted digital financial services platform.

Financial performance

• We achieved a strong 24.0% growth in constant currency revenues in FY’26, with reported currency revenues increasing by 29.5% to $6,415m, reflecting attractive industry fundamentals and focused operational execution, further supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and macroeconomic tailwinds. Francophone Africa and Nigeria constant currency growth was particularly encouraging, increasing by 17.1% and 47.5% respectively. In constant currency, the mobile services segment grew by 22.6%, with data revenues – now the largest component of Group revenues – increasing by 35.2%, while mobile money continues to see strong operating momentum, up by 28.4%. In Q4’26, constant currency revenues grew by 22.3% as Nigerian tariff benefits partially lapped during the quarter.
• The strong revenue performance and continued benefits from our cost efficiency programme resulted in underlying EBITDA^[2]margins of 49.3%, with all-time high margins of 50.3% in Q4’26 (Q4’25: 47.3%). Underlying EBITDA of $3,162m grew by 37.2% in reported currency and 30.4% in constant currency.
• Profit after tax of $813m improved from $328m in the prior period. Higher profit after tax in the current period was driven by higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $127m compared to $179m derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.
• Basic EPS of 18.6 cents compares to 6.0 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the growth in operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period, compared to losses in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items was driven by the same underlying factors, increasing from 8.2 cents to 18.6 cents.

Capital allocation

• Capex for the year increased by 31.9% to $884m, in line with our revised guidance. During the year, we rolled out 3,250+ new sites and expanded our fibre network by approximately 3,200 kms to 81,900 kms, strengthening network reach and resilience while supporting improved service quality.  Capex guidance for FY’27 is approximately $1.1bn, reflecting accelerated investment to expand coverage and capacity, while also investing in home broadband (HBB) and data centres, as we reinforce our strategy to scale digital infrastructure to meet rising demand.
• Leverage has improved from 2.3x to 1.8x, with lease-adjusted leverage also improving to 0.5x from 1.0x in the previous year, primarily driven by the improvement in underlying EBITDA.
• The Board has recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, making the total dividend for the full year 7.1 cents per share, a 9.2% growth from the previous year, in line with our dividend policy.

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