Airtel Africa has reported a robust financial performance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, demonstrating significant growth across its operations despite facing macroeconomic challenges in several markets.
Strong Revenue Growth Amid Currency Headwinds
In constant currency terms, Airtel Africa achieved a 21.1% year-on-year revenue growth, reaching $4.96 billion. As at the end of 9 months, it had done $3.64 billion. However, due to currency devaluations, particularly in Nigeria, reported revenue experienced a slight decline of 0.5%. The fourth quarter was notably strong, with revenue growth accelerating to 23.2% in constant currency and 17.8% in reported currency.
Expansion in Customer Base and Digital Services
The company’s total customer base expanded by 8.7%, totaling 166.1 million subscribers. Smartphone penetration increased by 4.3 percentage points to 44.8%, while data customers grew by 14.1% to 73.4 million. Average data usage per customer rose by 30.4% to 7.0 GB, contributing to a 15.4% increase in data ARPU in constant currency.
Airtel Money, the company’s mobile money platform, continued its upward trajectory with a 17.3% increase in subscribers, reaching 44.6 million users. The annualized transaction value for Airtel Money stood at $145 billion, marking a 34% increase in constant currency.
Financial Performance and Profitability
Underlying EBITDA for the year was $2.3 billion, representing an 18.1% growth in constant currency. However, in reported currency, EBITDA declined by 5.1%, primarily due to currency devaluations and increased fuel costs. EBITDA margins improved sequentially throughout the year, rising from 45.3% in Q1 to 47.3% in Q4.
Profit after tax rebounded to $328 million, a significant turnaround from a $89 million loss in the previous year. This improvement was largely attributed to reduced derivative and foreign exchange losses. Basic earnings per share were 6.0 cents, compared to a negative 4.4 cents in the prior period.
Strategic Investments and Capital Allocation
Airtel Africa invested $670 million in capital expenditures during the year, slightly below guidance due to deferred data centre investments. For the upcoming fiscal year, the company has set a capex guidance of $725 million to $750 million.
To mitigate currency risks, the company increased its local currency debt exposure, with 93% of its operating company debt now denominated in local currencies, up from 83% the previous year. Additionally, Airtel Africa paid down $702 million in foreign currency debt.
The Board recommended a final dividend of 3.9 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 6.5 cents per share, a 9.2% increase from the previous year. The company also returned $120 million to shareholders through share buyback programs.
Outlook
Airtel Africa’s strong performance in FY2025 underscores its resilience and strategic focus on digital and financial inclusion across its markets. With continued investments in network expansion and digital services, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for connectivity and financial services in Africa.
