Airtel Africa Plc reported strong revenue and earnings growth for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, with demand for data and mobile money services fueling a 24.9% jump in constant-currency revenue and a fivefold increase in profit after tax.
Revenue rose to $1.415 billion, up 22.4% in reported currency, reflecting tariff adjustments in key markets like Nigeria and a more stable macroeconomic environment across its 14 operating countries.
“We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter,” said Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa. “The strength of this performance, and the scale of the growth we achieved, reflects the sustained demand for our services and the strength of our business model to meet these demands.”
Mobile services revenue grew 23.8% in constant currency, with data revenue leading the way at 38.1% growth. Voice services were up 13.9%. Mobile money, a key growth segment for the company, rose 30.3%, boosted by strong performances in Francophone Africa 16.4% and East Africa 20.3%.
Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased 29.8% year-over-year to $679 million, with margins improving to 48% from 45.3%. Margin gains were driven by stable fuel prices and cost-efficiency programs.
Profit after tax surged to $156 million, up from $31 million a year earlier, helped by higher operating income and the absence of derivative and forex losses that weighed on last year’s results. Basic earnings per share rose to 3.4 cents from 0.2 cents.
Airtel’s customer base grew 9% to 169.4 million, with data users climbing 17.4% to 75.6 million. Mobile money customers reached 45.8 million, up 16.1%, with transaction value increasing 28.7% in constant currency.
The company expanded its infrastructure, deploying over 2,300 new sites and extending its fiber footprint by 2,700 kilometers to a total of 79,600 km. 4G population coverage reached 74.7%, up 3.4 percentage points from last year.
Airtel also made further progress on its debt localization strategy, with 95% of operating company debt now denominated in local currency, up from 86% a year ago, helping reduce foreign exchange risk. As of June 30, it had returned $16.9 million to shareholders through its ongoing share buyback program.
“Operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9%, and 17.4% growth in our data customers to 75.6m reflects the strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitisation and the simplification of the customer experience,” Taldar said.
