Airtel Africa’s revenue surges to Sh183 billion in Q1 2026 as East Africa delivers consistent growth
Total customer base grew by 9.0 per cent to 169.4 million, with data customers increasing 17.4 per cent to 75.6 million as the focus on bridging the digital divide across its markets continues
Airtel Africa PLC Group revenue in reported currency increased by 22.4 per cent to Sh183 billion (U$1.42 billion), with constant currency growth of 24.9 per cent for the quarter ended 30th June 2025.
The performance is attributed to strong operating and financial performance reflecting effective execution of strategy and consistent demand across the African market.
The East Africa revenue grew by 17.6 per cent in reported currency to Sh64. 4 billion (US$498 million) and by 16.9 per cent in constant currency made up of voice revenue growth of 15.1 per cent supported by customer base growth of 9.8 per cent and voice Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth of 4.0 per cent and data revenue growth of 21.4 per cent. The customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution
“We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter. The strength of this performance and the scale of the growth we achieved reflect the sustained demand for our services and the strength of our business model to meet these demands. Operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9 per cent, and 17.4 per cent growth in our data customers to 75.6 million, reflects the strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitisation and the simplification of the customer experience,” Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, said.
“Our strategy continues to prioritise the customer experience, as demonstrated by the launch of Airtel Spam Alert—an AI-powered solution aimed at enhancing trust and delivering a safer network environment. This underscores our commitment to leveraging technology to lower barriers to smartphone adoption. With smartphone penetration at only 45.9 per cent, we see significant headroom to drive further adoption and play a key role in bridging the digital divide.”
“Mobile money remains a cornerstone of our current and future growth proposition. With our customer base approaching 46 million and expanding by over 16 per cent, we see significant potential to further advance financial inclusion through the continued growth of our financial services offering. The continued expansion of our mobile money portfolio and the advancement of enterprise and digital payments contributed to a 35 per cent growth in annualised transaction value to $162 billion. We will continue to focus on technology and the range of product offerings to deliver a differentiated experience for our customers,” Taldar added.
“The provision of these essential services and the strategic focus on providing a great customer experience underpinned the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth to 24.9 per cent, translating into reported currency revenue growth of over 22 per cent as currencies stabilise. This strong revenue performance and continued cost efficiencies contributed to further EBITDA margin expansion, which resulted in strong EBITDA growth of approximately 30 per cent, and we remain focused on further margin improvements subject to macroeconomic stability. With a strong balance sheet and sustained network investment, I remain confident about our ability to capture the available growth potential across our markets and remain committed to efficiently and effectively delivering services that help to improve the lives, communities, and economies we serve,” he said.
Growth in customer base
Airtel Africa’s total customer base grew by 9.0 per cent to 169.4 million, with data customers increasing 17.4 per cent to 75.6 million as the focus on bridging the digital divide across its markets continues. This, alongside a 4.3 per cent increase in smartphone penetration to 45.9 per cent, contributed to accelerating demand for data services, with data ARPU growth accelerating to 18.5 per cent in constant currency as data usage across our network increased by 47.4 per cent.
Airtel Money continues to play a pivotal role in fostering financial inclusion with a 16.1 per cent increase in customers to 45.8 million. As use cases continue to expand, customers are increasingly engaging with a wide range of offerings supporting a 35 per cent increase in annualised transaction value to US$162 billion, and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth of 11.3 per cent in constant currency.
Airtel Africa’s strategic focus on great customer experience is underpinned by sustained network investment with the rollout of over 2,300 new sites to reach 37,579 sites and an expansion of our fibre network by 2,700 kilometres to over 79,600 kilometress. This investment continues to drive increased data capacity across the region with 4G population coverage reaching 74.7 per cent – an increase of 3.4 per cent from a year ago.
Financial performance
Revenues of US$1,415 million saw strong growth of 24.9 per cent in constant currency and 22.4 per cent in reported currency as currency headwinds continue to ease over the last three quarters. The acceleration in constant currency revenue growth from the previous quarter reflects not only the impact of the tariff adjustments in Nigeria, but also a strong performance in Francophone Africa, reflecting the continued execution of our strategy focused on the customer experience.
Across the Group, mobile services revenue grew by 23.8 per cent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 13.9 per cent and data revenue growth of 38.1 per cent. Mobile money revenues continued to see a strong growth trajectory, with 30.3 per cent growth in constant currency.
Earnings before the deduction of interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 29.8 per cent in reported currency to US$679 million with EBITDA margins expanding further to 48.0 per cent from 45.3 per cent in the prior period, driven by continued operating momentum, more stable fuel prices, and sustained benefits from our cost efficiency programme.
Profit after tax of US$156 million improved from US$31 mill ion in the prior period. The prior period was significantly impacted by derivative and foreign exchange losses, primarily in Nigeria, while the current period benefitted from a US$22 million gain largely arising from the Central African franc (CFA) appreciation during the quarter.
Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) of 3.4 cents compares to 0.2 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting higher operating profit in the current period and derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items increased from 2.3 cents in the prior period to 3.4 cents, as higher operating profits more than offset the impact of higher finance costs arising from the tower contract renewals undertaken during the previous financial year.
Capital allocation
Capital expense (Capex) of US$121 million was lower compared to the prior period, driven largely by timing differences. Capex guidance for the full year remains between US$725 million and US$750 million.
The telco continued with its debt localisation programme aimed to reduce our foreign currency debt exposure with almost 95 per cent of its operating company (OpCo) debt (excl. lease liabilities) now in local currency, up from 86 per cent a year ago.
Leverage increased from 1.6x to 2.2x (an improvement from 2.3x in Q4’25), primarily reflecting the US$1.3 billion increase in lease liabilities arising from the tower contract renewals, as previously disclosed. Lease-adjusted leverage remains flat at 0.9x.
Since the commencement of the second tranche of the share buyback for US$55 million, the company has returned US$16.9 million to shareholders following the purchase of 7.1 million ordinary shares as of 30 June 2025.
