Airtel Africa has posted a solid operational and financial performance for the year ending March 31, 2025, with strong momentum in customer growth, mobile money expansion, and data usage despite currency devaluations slightly weighing on its reported revenue and earnings.
According to the company’s audited financial statement released on May 8, 2025, the total customer base rose by 8.7 percent to 166.1 million users across its African markets, driven by sustained investments in network infrastructure and digital platforms.
Smartphone penetration grew by 4.3 percentage points to reach 44.8 percent, and data customers increased by 14.1 percent to 73.4 million.
“The focus on our refreshed strategy has seen continued investment in the network while also driving improvements in our digital platforms and offerings to further enhance the customer experience,” said Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar.
This, according to him, has enabled increased digital inclusion with a further 20% growth in our smartphone customers to 74.4 million, contributing to a 47.5% increase in data traffic over the year.”
Data consumption per user surged by 30.4 percent to an average of 7.0 GB, helping to lift average revenue per user (ARPU) in the data segment by 15.4 percent in constant currency.
In parallel, the mobile money customer base grew by 17.3 percent to 44.6 million subscribers.
The company also reported a 34 percent increase in mobile money transaction value in the fourth quarter alone, bringing the annualized transaction value to $145 billion.
“Our Airtel Money platform continues to play a pivotal role in advancing financial inclusion, with an expanding ecosystem now underpinning $136 billion in annual transaction value,” Taldar said.
The number of mobile money customers and use cases keeps growing, supported by increased digitisation and our strengthened agent network.
In financial terms, group revenue increased by 21.1 percent in constant currency to $4.96 billion, but dipped by 0.5 percent in reported currency, reflecting pressure from foreign exchange losses, particularly in Nigeria.
In contrast, fourth-quarter revenues grew 23.2 percent in constant currency and 17.8 percent in reported currency, indicating a turnaround as currency headwinds eased.
Voice revenue grew by 10.6 percent, while data revenue jumped 30.5 percent and mobile money revenue surged 29.9 percent, all in constant currency.
Profit after tax rebounded strongly to $328 million from a $89 million loss in the previous year, mainly due to lower foreign exchange and derivative losses.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) rose to 6.0 cents from a negative 4.4 cents in the prior period.
However, EPS before exceptional items dipped to 8.2 cents from 10.1 cents, due to higher finance costs related to tower contract renewals.
Underlying EBITDA declined by 5.1 percent in reported currency to $2.3 billion, with margins at 46.5 percent compared to 48.8 percent in the previous year.
Despite that, margins improved steadily through the year rising from 45.3 percent in the first quarter to 47.3 percent in the fourth, driven by cost optimization and operational efficiency.
“We remain focused on further EBITDA margin improvements, subject to macroeconomic stability,” said Taldar.
This, he says, combined with our robust capital structure and disciplined capital allocation, puts us in a strong position to continue investing in network capacity to deliver continued growth.”
Capital expenditure for the year was $670 million—lower than guidance due to deferred data centre investment. Airtel Africa plans to increase spending to between $725 million and $750 million in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the company paid off $702 million in foreign currency debt, reducing its exposure and increasing the share of local currency debt to 93 percent, up from 83 percent a year earlier.
Leverage rose from 1.4x to 2.3x, reflecting $1.3 billion in new lease liabilities from tower contract renewals.
Lease-adjusted leverage increased to 1.0x from 0.7x due to reduced EBITDA contribution from Nigeria and the impact of currency devaluation.
The Board recommended a final dividend of 3.9 cents per share, raising the full-year dividend to 6.5 cents—a 9.2 percent increase from the previous year.
Additionally, the company returned $120 million to shareholders through share buybacks.
Looking ahead, Airtel Africa said it is advancing preparations for the IPO of its Airtel Money business, aiming for a listing in the first half of calendar year 2026, subject to market conditions.
“The recent stability in the operating environment is encouraging, however we remain conscious of global developments that may impact our business,” said Taldar.
“We will remain focused on delivering our strategy to transform the lives of our customers and support economic prosperity across our markets,” he added.
The 2025 performance demonstrates Airtel Africa’s ability to balance expansion, innovation, and risk management in a volatile economic climate making the company one of the key players in Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
