By Julius Businge
Airtel Africa reported profit after tax of $586m for the nine months ended December 2025, more than doubling from the prior period, as strong revenue growth, margin expansion and foreign exchange gains lifted earnings across the group, it said in a statement dated Jan.30.
The telecommunications and mobile money operator recorded revenues of $4.7bn, representing robust growth on both a reported and constant currency basis, supported by accelerating performance in the third quarter. EBITDA rose to $2.3bn, with margins improving to 48.9%, reflecting strong operating leverage and continued benefits from the company’s cost efficiency programme.
The group’s customer base increased to 179.4 million, with data customers rising to 81.8 million. Smartphone penetration climbed to 48.1%, driving higher data usage per customer and contributing to strong growth in data revenues, which remained the largest contributor to overall revenue. Mobile services revenue delivered solid gains across voice and data, with data revenues growing at a significantly faster pace than voice.
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By Julius Businge
Airtel Africa reported profit after tax of $586m for the nine months ended December 2025, more than doubling from the prior period, as strong revenue growth, margin expansion and foreign exchange gains lifted earnings across the group, it said in a statement dated Jan.30.
The telecommunications and mobile money operator recorded revenues of $4.7bn, representing robust growth on both a reported and constant currency basis, supported by accelerating performance in the third quarter. EBITDA rose to $2.3bn, with margins improving to 48.9%, reflecting strong operating leverage and continued benefits from the company’s cost efficiency programme.
The group’s customer base increased to 179.4 million, with data customers rising to 81.8 million. Smartphone penetration climbed to 48.1%, driving higher data usage per customer and contributing to strong growth in data revenues, which remained the largest contributor to overall revenue. Mobile services revenue delivered solid gains across voice and data, with data revenues growing at a significantly faster pace than voice.
Airtel Money continued to scale rapidly, with its customer base reaching 52 million during the period. The platform processed annualised transaction volumes of more than $210bn in the third quarter, underscoring growing adoption of digital payments and financial services across the company’s markets. Mobile money revenues rose strongly, benefiting from higher transaction activity and an expanding ecosystem of merchants and partners.
Operating profit increased to $1.5bn, supported by higher EBITDA and a swing to foreign exchange and derivative gains of $99m, compared with losses in the previous period. Finance costs declined year on year, while basic earnings per share rose to 13.1 cents from 4.4 cents.
Airtel Africa generated net cash from operating activities of $2.3bn, up sharply from the previous year, while operating free cash flow reached $1.7bn. Capital expenditure increased to $603m as the group accelerated investment in network rollout, adding around 2,500 new sites and extending its fibre network to more than 81,500 kilometres. Population coverage improved to 81.7%.
Despite the higher investment, leverage strengthened during the period, with net debt to EBITDA improving to 1.9 times, down from 2.4 times a year earlier, reflecting stronger earnings growth.
Chief executive Sunil Taldar said the results highlighted the strength of the company’s strategy and its focus on expanding data capacity, enhancing coverage and deepening financial inclusion. He said Airtel Africa remained on track with its planned listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026 and continued to see significant long-term growth opportunities across its markets.
The company said it remains confident that rising demand for mobile data, increasing smartphone adoption and broader use of digital financial services will continue to support growth and value creation across Africa.
