Airtel Africa’s Revenue Hits $3.82bn as Nigeria Business Grows 27%

..Telecommunications group records 20.8% revenue growth in constant currency, adds 20.1 million customers

Airtel Africa Plc has reported a 28.2 per cent increase in revenue to $3.823 billion for the half year ended September 30, 2026, driven by strong performance across its markets, with Nigeria recording 27 per cent growth in constant currency.

The company’s financial results for the first half of the 2026/2027 financial year showed that revenue increased from $2.982 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025 to $3.823 billion, representing a 20.8 per cent growth in constant currency.

Nigeria emerged as a major growth contributor, recording a 45 per cent increase in reported currency revenue to $1.008 billion, while revenue growth in constant currency stood at 27 per cent. The performance was supported by increased customer acquisition, higher data consumption and improved average revenue per user.

Airtel Nigeria’s total customer base grew by 15.1 per cent to 61.7 million, compared with 53.6 million in the corresponding period last year. Its data customer base also increased by 11.8 per cent to 32.9 million, reflecting growing demand for mobile internet services.

Data revenue in Nigeria rose by 33.8 per cent in constant currency, supported by an increase in smartphone penetration to 56.8 per cent and monthly smartphone data usage per customer, which climbed to 16.7GB from 12.7GB recorded in the previous period.

Across its 14 African markets, Airtel Africa’s total customer base increased by 11.6 per cent to 193.9 million, while its data customer base grew by 15 per cent to 89.9 million. The company’s mobile money customer base also expanded by 22.4 per cent to 60.9 million.

Group data revenue increased by 28 per cent in constant currency to $1.571 billion, accounting for approximately half of total mobile services revenue. Mobile money revenue also recorded 25.8 per cent growth in constant currency, reflecting increased adoption of digital financial services.

The company attributed the growth in data services to rising smartphone adoption and increased consumption, with average monthly smartphone data usage per customer increasing to 13.3GB from 10.1GB in the corresponding period.

Commenting on the performance, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, said the results reflected strong underlying demand across the company’s markets and consistent execution of its growth strategy.

He said the company’s total customer growth remained strong at 11.6 per cent, while the business continued to benefit from increasing demand for data and financial services.

Taldar added that Airtel Africa was increasingly deploying artificial intelligence across its operations to deepen customer understanding, accelerate innovation, simplify customer experiences and strengthen fraud detection.

Despite inflationary pressures arising from increased fuel costs, the company’s underlying EBITDA margin improved to 50.3 per cent, compared with 48.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit after tax also increased by 20.5 per cent to $452 million from $376 million.

As part of its investment drive, Airtel Africa more than doubled its capital expenditure to $657 million during the period, compared with $318 million in the previous year. The investment supported the deployment of approximately 4,200 infrastructure sites and expansion of network capacity and coverage.

The company also recorded improvements in its financial position, with leverage declining to 1.6 times from 2.1 times, while lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.5 times from 0.8 times.

In another development, Airtel Africa announced an interim dividend of 3.1 US cents per share, representing a 9.2 per cent increase, while returning $108.7 million to shareholders through its share buyback programme.

The company also highlighted the October 14, 2026 listing of Airtel Money on the London Stock Exchange as a significant milestone in the development of its digital financial services business. Airtel Africa retained a 77.85 per cent shareholding following the listing.

According to the company, the mobile money business continues to benefit from expanding distribution networks, digital adoption and increased merchant acceptance, with annualised total processed transaction value reaching $275 billion in the second quarter.

Airtel Africa said it would sustain investments in network infrastructure, digital capabilities and financial inclusion to support customer growth, improve service delivery and create long-term value across its markets.