Airtel Africa has announced impressive operating and financial results for Q3’24, driven by strategic investments in network expansion, financial inclusion, and customer experience. The company reported a strong 7.9% growth in its total customer base, reaching 163.1 million, with a 13.8% increase in data customers to 71.4 million. Data usage per customer surged by 32.3% to 6.9 GB, while smartphone penetration rose by 5.2%, reaching 44.2%.
The company’s efforts to enhance financial inclusion also showed substantial progress, with mobile money subscribers growing by 18.3% to 44.3 million. The value of transactions in Q3’25 increased by 33.3% in constant currency, achieving an annualized transaction value of $146 billion.
In terms of financial performance, the company reported revenues of $3,638 million, a 20.4% increase in constant currency, though a 5.8% decline in reported currency due to ongoing currency devaluation. Mobile services revenue rose by 18.8%, led by a 29.5% increase in data revenue and a 9.8% growth in voice revenue. Mobile money revenue also grew by 29.6%.
EBITDA for the nine-month period declined by 11.9% in reported currency, but the company’s strategic cost efficiency program helped expand EBITDA margins from 45.3% in Q1’24 to 46.9% in Q3’24. Profit after tax benefitted from an exceptional gain of $94 million, though the nine-month profit was impacted by $57 million in derivative and foreign exchange losses.
In line with its commitment to future growth, the company allocated $456 million in capital expenditure, a 7.8% decrease compared to the previous period. Capital expenditure guidance for the full year remains between $725 million and $750 million. The company also paid down $739 million of foreign currency debt, with 92% of its operating company debt now in local currency, a significant improvement from the previous year.
On capital returns, the company announced a second $100 million share buyback program following the completion of the first buyback. This reflects the Board’s confidence in the company’s continued growth potential and robust balance sheet.
Sunil Taldar, CEO, commented on the trading update
“We have delivered an improvement in both the operating and financial performance in the last quarter driven by our refined strategy which is focused on delivering great customer experience across all touchpoints. Our commitment to expanding our network and simplifying the customer journey has helped us unlock substantial growth opportunities. Demand for our services remains strong, with data traffic growing by 49% over the last year. We continue to focus on margin improvement and maintaining a strong capital structure, with just 8% of our operating company debt in foreign currency.”
Taldar further highlighted that the company is optimistic about market conditions, noting encouraging signs of currency stabilization in some markets and a recent decision by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) regarding tariff adjustments in Nigeria, which could foster a more stable operating environment.
About Airtel
Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with operations in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Airtel Africa provides an integrated offer to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.
The company’s strategy is focused on providing a great customer experience across the entire footprint, enabling our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa.
