Airtel Africa’s quarterly revenue rose 31.0% to US$1.853 Bn as data, mobile money and customer growth lifted EBITDA 36.6% to US$928 Mn, although higher finance costs and accelerated network spending limited profit and free-cash-flow growth.
- •The telecoms operator’s EBITDA margin widened by 206 basis points to 50.1% in the quarter ended June 2026, supported by revenue growth, operating leverage and continued cost-efficiency measures.
- •Operating profit increased 40.7% to US$627 Mn, while profit after tax rose at a slower 27.0% to US$198 Mn.
- •Profit attributable to Airtel Africa shareholders increased 26.8% to US$160 Mn, with basic earnings per share rising to 4.4 US cents from 3.4 US cents.
Growth was broad-based across Airtel’s main business lines. Data revenue increased 36.5% to US$750 Mn, mobile money revenue grew 38.9% to $404Mn and voice revenue rose 20.1% to US$640 Mn.
The total customer base expanded 11.6% to 189.0Mn, including 87.3Mn data customers and 56.5Mn mobile money users. Smartphone penetration rose 5.2 percentage points to 51.0%, helping drive a 56.3% increase in network data traffic.
Reported revenue growth benefited from currency appreciation across several markets. In constant currency, group revenue increased 21.1%, compared with the 31.0% reported growth rate. <a href="https://absafricatv.com/no-president-will-save-nigeria/” title=”No president will save Nigeria”>Nigeria was Airtel’s fastest-growing region, with revenue rising 50.4% to $501Mn, supported by tariff adjustments and appreciation of the naira.
East Africa revenue increased 27.6% to US$854 Mn, while Francophone Africa recorded 19.7% growth to US$492 Mn.
Airtel’s stronger operating performance was partly offset by higher financing and tax expenses. Total finance costs rose 56.0% to US$269 Mn, including a US$37 Mn exceptional charge relating to an in-principle settlement of a commercial dispute at one subsidiary.
The company also recorded US$6 Mn in derivative and foreign-exchange losses, compared with US$22 Mn in gains a year earlier. Its effective tax rate stood at 40.9%, above the approximately 32% weighted statutory corporate tax rate, reflecting the geographical profit mix and withholding taxes on subsidiary dividends.
Net cash generated from operating activities rose 38.3% to US$786 Mn. However, operating free cash flow declined 3.5% to $539Mn after capital expenditure more than tripled to US$389 Mn.
Management said investment was front-loaded to expand network quality, coverage and capacity ahead of demand. Airtel added more than 920 sites during the quarter and expanded its fibre network to 82,100 kilometres.
Despite the higher investment, net debt-to-EBITDA improved to 1.7 times from 2.2 times. Management, however, warned that elevated fuel and energy costs could pressure margins in the near term.
