Airtel Africa Plc has reported outstanding full-year earnings for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, with profit after tax surging by 147.4 percent to $813 million, driven by strong revenue growth, improved operating margins, and gains from foreign exchange. The telecommunications and mobile money leader recorded a 29.5 percent increase in reported currency revenue, reaching $6.42 billion, while constant currency revenue grew by 24 percent. This robust performance reflects sustained customer growth, rising smartphone adoption, increased data consumption, and the continued expansion of Airtel Money services across its 14 African markets.
Customer base expanded by 10.5 percent to 183.5 million subscribers, with data customers rising by 14.8 percent to 84.2 million. Smartphone penetration improved to 49.5 percent from 44.8 percent the previous year, while monthly data usage per customer climbed to 8.9GB from 7GB. Data revenue, now the largest revenue stream, jumped 40.3 percent to $2.53 billion, and mobile money revenue rose 36.3 percent to $1.36 billion. Airtel Money’s customer base grew by 21.3 percent to 54.1 million users, with annualised total processed value exceeding $215 billion in the fourth quarter.
Underlying EBITDA increased by 37.2 percent to $3.16 billion, and the EBITDA margin improved to 49.3 percent from 46.5 percent. Operating profit rose 45.1 percent to $2.12 billion, and basic earnings per share climbed significantly to 18.6 cents from 6 cents a year earlier. The company also strengthened its balance sheet, reducing leverage from 2.3x to 1.8x and lease-adjusted leverage from 1x to 0.5x. Capital expenditure rose by 31.9 percent to $884 million, supporting network expansion and digital infrastructure development.
During the year, Airtel Africa launched over 3,250 new sites and extended its fibre network by approximately 3,200 kilometres, bringing total fibre length to 81,900 kilometres. The board recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, making the total annual dividend 7.1 cents per share—a 9.2 percent increase from the prior year. CEO Sunil Taldar highlighted strong execution, digital transformation, and favorable industry trends as key drivers of growth. He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to pursuing the Airtel Money IPO in the second half of 2026, pending market conditions.
In Nigeria, Airtel delivered particularly impressive results, with revenue rising 52.9 percent to $1.60 billion and underlying EBITDA increasing 77 percent to $922 million. Data revenue surged 69.8 percent, and EBITDA margin improved to 57.5 percent from 49.7 percent. The company also announced plans to raise its capex guidance for the 2027 financial year to about $1.1 billion, focusing on network coverage, home broadband, enterprise services, and data centre expansion. Airtel Africa’s continued investments in 4G, 5G, fibre, digital services, and financial inclusion are expected to solidify its position for sustained growth across Africa.
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