Airtel Africa plc

Results for half year ended 30 September 2025

28 October 2025

Consistently strong results reflecting sustained demand and continued execution of our strategy

Operating highlights

·    The accelerating growth in our customer base across all segments underscores the success of our strategy which centres on the customer experience with the Airtel Spam alert highlighting our approach to innovation, targeted capex maximising revenue generation and the expansion of digital offerings driving myAirtel app uptake. Our total customer base of 173.8 million increased 11.0%, with data customers of 78.1 million showing accelerated growth of 18.4%. Smartphone penetration increased another 3.8% to 46.8%, with data ARPU's growing by 16.8% in constant currency^[1] primarily reflecting the 45.0% increase in data traffic across the network.

·    Airtel Money is driving digital adoption and strengthening the ecosystem to advance financial inclusion. This is also evident in the acceleration in customer growth to 20%, bringing the total customer base to 49.8 million. Annualised total processed value[2] (TPV) for Q2'26 surpassed $193bn - a 35.9% increase - reflecting both the expanding customer base and a strong focus on enhancing engagement through ongoing innovation. These efforts contributed to an 11% increase in constant currency ARPU.

·    Our commitment to delivering a great customer experience is supported by ongoing investment in our network with the rollout of over 2,350 new sites to over 38,300 sites and an expansion of our fibre network by approx. 4,000 kms to over 81,000 kms. This investment continues to drive increased data capacity across the region as overall population coverage reached 81.5% - an increase of 0.7% from a year ago, with 98.5% of sites being 4G enabled.

Financial performance

·    Revenues of $2,982m saw strong growth of 24.5% in constant currency and 25.8% in reported currency as currency appreciation benefitted reported currency performance. Currency appreciation in Q2'26 has seen reported currency revenue growth of 29.1% versus 24.2% growth in constant currency. The constant currency revenue growth reflects the consistent execution of our strategy, supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and continued strong growth momentum in Francophone Africa. 

·    Across the Group, mobile services revenue grew by 23.1% in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 13.2% and data revenue growth of 37.0%. Data revenues of $1,161m has now surpassed voice as the biggest component of revenue for the Group. Mobile money revenues continue to benefit from its increased scale and higher levels of engagement to deliver a 30.2% growth in constant currency.

·    EBITDA grew by 33.2% in reported currency to $1,447m with EBITDA margins expanding further to 48.5% from 45.8% in the prior period driven by continued operating momentum and sustained benefits from our cost efficiency programme. Q2'26 EBITDA margins reached 49.0%, up from 46.4% in the prior year.

·    Profit after tax of $376m improved from $79m 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 $90m gain largely arising from Nigerian naira appreciation during the current quarter (Q2'26) and the Central African franc (CFA) appreciation during the previous quarter (Q1'26).

·    Basic EPS of 8.3 cents compares to 0.8 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the growth in operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period compared to losses in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items increased from 4.9 cents in the prior period to 8.3 cents, largely reflecting the increased operating profits and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period.

Capital allocation

·    Capex of $318m was in-line with the prior period. Capex guidance for FY'26 has been increased to between $875m and $900m as we look to accelerate our ability to capitalise on the significant opportunity across our markets.

·    We continued with our debt localisation programme aimed at reducing our foreign currency debt exposure with around 95% of our OpCo debt (excl. lease liabilities) now in local currency, up from 89% a year ago.

·    Leverage has improved from 2.3x to 2.1x, with lease-adjusted leverage also improving to 0.8x from 1.0x a year ago, primarily driven by the improvement in EBITDA.

·    The Board has declared an interim dividend of 2.84 cents per share, an increase of 9.2% in line with our progressive dividend policy. The $100m share buy-back programme remains on track to complete on or before 31 March 2026.    

 

Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, on the trading update:

"Our strategy has been focussed on providing a superior customer experience and the strength of these results is testament to the initiatives that we have been implementing across the business. Digital innovation is a core focus, and we're pleased to see the growing adoption of MyAirtel app as we seek to deepen customer engagement and simplify the customer journey. Furthermore, our network continues to scale as we build additional capacity to facilitate the rise in both digital and financial inclusion. The increase in smartphone penetration to 46.8% reflects the substantial demand for data services across our markets but also highlights the scale of the opportunity to further develop the digital economy.

Airtel Money continues to gain momentum, with our customer base nearing 50 million and annualised total processed value approaching $200bn, up over 35% year-on-year. The acceleration in customer growth and continued growth in engagement on the platform reflects our success in driving digital adoption and innovation to enhance the ecosystem. The preparation for the IPO remains on course for a listing in the first half of 2026.

The strength of our revenue performance - up 24.5% in constant currency - and further cost efficiency initiatives has continued to support a further increase in EBITDA margins to 49% in Q2'26, and we'll continue to focus on further incremental margin improvements, subject to macroeconomic stability. This strong performance gives us the confidence to increase our capex guidance for this financial year to between $875m and $900m, as we accelerate our investments to capture the full potential across our markets and deliver long-term value for all stakeholders."

 

 

 

GAAP measures (Half-year ended)
Description	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency
	$m	$m	change
Revenue	2,982	2,370	25.8%
Operating profit	959	706	35.9%
Profit after tax	376	79	375.3%
Basic EPS ($ cents)	8.3	0.8	908.6%
Net cash generated from operating activities	1,388	979	41.8%

 

Alternative performance measures (APM)[3] (Half-year ended)
Description	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency	Constant currency
	$m	$m	change	change
Revenue	2,982	2,370	25.8%	24.5%
EBITDA	1,447	1,087	33.2%	31.5%
EBITDA margin	48.5%	45.8%	268 bps	258 bps
EPS before exceptional items ($ cents)	8.3	4.9	69.9%
Operating free cash flow	1,129	771	46.5%

 

About Airtel Africa

Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with operations in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Airtel Africa provides an integrated offer to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.

The company's strategy is focused on providing a great customer experience across the entire footprint, enabling our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa.

 

Enquiries

Airtel Africa - investor relations Alastair Jones [email protected]	+44 7464 830 011 +44 207 493 9315
Hudson Sandler Nick Lyon Emily Dillon [email protected]	+44 207 796 4133

 

 

Conference call

Management will host an analyst and investor conference call at 13:00pm UK time (BST) on Tuesday 28 October 2025, including a 'Question-and-Answer' session.

To receive an invitation with the dial in numbers to participate in the event, please register beforehand using the following link:

Conference call registration link

 

 

Key consolidated financial information

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change %	Constant currency change %	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change %	Constant currency change %
Profit and loss summary
Revenue 1	$m	2,982	2,370	25.8%	24.5%	1,567	1,214	29.1%	24.2%
Voice revenue	$m	1,100	960	14.5%	13.2%	567	484	17.2%	12.6%
Data revenue	$m	1,161	844	37.5%	37.0%	612	435	40.7%	36.0%
Mobile money revenue 2	$m	623	466	33.9%	30.2%	333	244	36.5%	30.1%
Other revenue	$m	227	205	10.8%	11.1%	119	105	12.8%	9.8%
Expenses	$m	(1,549)	(1,295)	19.6%	18.7%	(807)	(654)	23.4%	19.3%
EBITDA 3	$m	1,447	1,087	33.2%	31.5%	768	564	36.2%	30.5%
EBITDA margin	%	48.5%	45.8%	268 bps	258 bps	49.0%	46.4%	256 bps	236 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(488)	(381)	28.2%	27.8%	(255)	(193)	32.0%	27.8%
Operating profit	$m	959	706	35.9%	33.6%	513	371	38.3%	32.0%
Other finance cost - net of finance income 4	$m	(304)	(297)	2.2%		(131)	(158)	(17.0%)
Finance cost - exceptional items 5	$m	-	(231)	(100.0%)		-	(109)	(100.0%)
Total finance cost	$m	(304)	(528)	(42.6%)		(131)	(267)	(51.0%)
Net monetary (loss)/gain relating to hyperinflationary accounting	$m	(0)	-			1	-
Profit before tax 6	$m	656	178	269.3%		383	104	268.6%
Tax	$m	(280)	(179)	56.9%		(164)	(94)	75.2%
Tax - exceptional items 5	$m	-	80	(100.0%)		-	38	(100.0%)
Total tax charge	$m	(280)	(99)	184.2%		(164)	(56)	193.8%
Profit after tax	$m	376	79	375.3%		219	48	352.8%
Non-controlling interest	$m	(73)	(48)	49.8%		(42)	(24)	75.6%
Profit attributable to owners of the company - before exceptional items	$m	303	182	66.6%		177	95	85.5%
Profit attributable to owners of the company	$m	303	31	888.9%		177	24	628.0%
EPS - before exceptional items	cents	8.3	4.9	69.9%		4.9	2.6	88.7%
Basic EPS	cents	8.3	0.8	908.6%		4.9	0.6	653.6%
Weighted average number of shares	million	3,654	3,727	(1.9%)		3,648	3,717	(1.8%)
Capex	$m	318	316	0.6%		197	169	16.6%
Operating free cash flow	$m	1,129	771	46.5%		571	395	44.6%
Net cash generated from operating activities	$m	1,388	979	41.8%		820	565	45.1%
Net debt	$m	5,512	5,155			5,512	5,155
Leverage (net debt to EBITDA)	times	2.1x	2.3x			2.1x	2.3x
Lease-adjusted leverage	times	0.8x	1.0x			0.8x	1.0x
Return on capital employed 7	%	20.3%	19.8%	48 bps		20.0%	21.8%	(183) bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	2.9	2.6	14.8%	13.7%	3.1	2.6	17.3%	12.8%
Total customer base	million	173.8	156.6	11.0%		173.8	156.6	11.0%
Data customer base	million	78.1	66.0	18.4%		78.1	66.0	18.4%
Mobile money customer base	million	49.8	41.5	20.0%		49.8	41.5	20.0%

 

All commentary in the footnotes refers to the half year ended 30 September 2025 and the prior period (30 September 2024), unless otherwise stated.

 

(1)     Revenue includes inter-segment eliminations of $129m and $105m for the prior period.

(2)     Mobile money revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services were $494m and $361m for the prior period.

(3)     EBITDA includes other income of $14m and $12m for the prior period.

(4)     Other finance cost: net of finance income includes derivative and foreign exchange gain of $90m in the current period and a loss of $29m in the prior period which has not been treated as exceptional items.

(5)     Exceptional items in the prior period relates to derivative and foreign exchange losses due to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira, which resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $80m.

(6)     Profit before tax in current period includes 'Share of profit of associate and joint venture' of $1m.

(7)     Return on capital employed (ROCE) at 20.0% in Q2'26 is lower compared to prior period (Q2'25 was 21.8%), despite the increase in operating profits, due to an increase in average capital employed resulting from the tower contract renewals as previously disclosed.

 

 

Financial review for the half year ended 30 September 2025

Revenue

Group revenue in reported currency increased by 25.8% to $2,982m, with constant currency growth of 24.5%. Reported currency revenue growth at a premium to constant currency growth reflects currency appreciation in key markets. Constant currency revenue growth was supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and a recovery in Francophone Africa revenue growth, which accelerated to 16.1% in the half-year. In East Africa, constant currency growth also remained strong at 19.8%.

Mobile services revenue at $2,495m grew by 23.9% in reported currency and by 23.1% in constant currency. Following strong data revenue growth of 37.0%, it has now become the Group's largest revenue contributor, surpassing voice revenues which grew by 13.2%. Mobile money revenue grew by 33.9% in reported currency and by 30.2% in constant currency, driven by strong growth both in East Africa and Francophone Africa.

Francophone Africa reported currency revenue growth was 19.2% - a premium to the constant currency revenue growth, primarily due to CFA appreciation. In East Africa, reported currency revenue grew 22.9% also higher as compared to 19.8% constant currency growth due to appreciation in Ugandan shilling and Zambian kwacha. In Nigeria, the naira devalued from a weighted average NGN/USD rate of 1,484 in the prior period to NGN/USD 1,553 in the current period resulting in 42.6% growth in reported currency compared to 49.2% in constant currency.

EBITDA[4]

Reported currency EBITDA grew by 33.2% to $1,447m, while in constant currency, EBITDA increased by 31.5%. Following a more stable operating environment and the continued success of our cost efficiency programme, EBITDA margins have increased by 268bps in the current period to reach 48.5%. Q2'26 EBITDA margin also expanded, reaching 49.0%, an increase of 256bps.

Mobile services EBITDA increased by 30.8% in constant currency with EBITDA margins of 47.9% expanding 283bps. Mobile money EBITDA margins of 51.7% declined 129bps in reported currency primarily due to the renegotiation of intra-group agreements that are discussed in the mobile money segment analysis on page 17. 

Operating profit

Operating profit in reported currency increased by 35.9% to $959m, largely driven by EBITDA growth of 33.2% in reported currency.

Finance costs

Total finance costs for the half year ended 30 September 2025 were $304m as compared to $528m in prior period. Prior period finance costs were impacted by $260m of derivative and foreign exchange losses (reflecting the revaluation of US dollar balance sheet liabilities and derivatives following currency devaluations), of which $231m resulted from the Nigerian naira devaluation which was classified as an exceptional item. Current period finance cost had $90m of derivative and foreign exchange gains largely on account of Nigerian naira appreciation in current quarter (Q2'26) and CFA appreciation in the last quarter (Q1'26). Hence, finance costs excluding derivative and foreign exchange losses/gains increased from $268m to $394m in the current period reflecting an increase in interest on lease liabilities due to tower contract renewals with ATC and IHS (tower contract renewals had neutral to positive impact on cashflows) and increased OpCo market debt. The shift of foreign currency debt to local currency debt, which carries a higher average interest rate, also contributed to increase in finance costs in the current period.

The Group's effective interest rate decreased to 12.4% compared to 13.2% in the prior period.

Exceptional items

Finance cost - exceptional items of $231m in prior periods was related to derivative and foreign exchange losses following the devaluation of Nigerian naira during the period. These losses resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $80m.

Profit before tax

Profit before tax at $656m during the half year ended 30 September 2025 as compared to $178m in the prior period. Higher profit before tax in current period as compared to prior period was on account of higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $90m in current period as compared to $260m derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.

Taxation

Total tax charges were $280m as compared to $99m in the prior period. Total tax charges in the prior period reflected an exceptional gain of $80m, arising from the exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses. Excluding exceptional items, tax charges increased by $101m which was largely driven by the higher profit before tax in the current period and withholding taxes on dividends paid by subsidiaries.

The effective tax rate was 39.8% compared to 41.0% in the previous financial year (FY'25). Effective tax rate is higher than weighted average statutory corporate tax rate of approximately 32%, largely due to the profit mix between various OpCos and withholding taxes on dividends paid by subsidiaries.

Profit after tax

Profit after tax was $376m during the half year ended 30 September 2025 as compared to $79m in the prior period.

Earnings per share

Basic EPS of 8.3 cents compares to 0.8 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting higher operating profits and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period compared to derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.

EPS before exceptional items[5] also increased from 4.9 cents in the prior period to 8.3 cents as higher operating profits due to strong revenue growth and margin expansion, as well as derivative and foreign exchange gains due to currency appreciation in the current period, more than offset the impact of higher finance cost arising on account of tower contract renewals, which had a neutral to positive impact on cashflows.

Net cash generated from operating activities

Net cash generated from operating activities was $1,388m, 41.8% higher compared to $979m in the prior period, primarily reflecting the strong operating performance with EBITDA growth of 33.2%.

Operating free cash flow

Operating free cash flow was $1,129m, up by 46.5%, as a result of higher EBITDA during the current period.

Leverage

Over the year we have continued to improve our debt structure and continued with the debt localisation programme. The proportion of local currency OpCo debt (excluding lease liabilities) on our balance sheet increased to 95% as of 30 September 2025 from 89% a year ago.

Lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.8x (from 1.0x) primarily reflecting the higher EBITDA. Leverage over the period has improved from 2.3x to 2.1x, primarily driven by the improvement in EBITDA.

 

Other significant updates

 

Update on share buyback programme

On 23 December 2024, Airtel Africa plc (or the 'company') announced the commencement of a second share buyback programme that will return up to $100m to shareholders. This programme is to be phased in two tranches. The company completed the first tranche on 24 April 2025, returning $45m to shareholders following the purchase of 26.3 million ordinary shares.

Following the completion of the first tranche, on 14 May 2025, the company announced the commencement of the second tranche of the $100m share buy-back amounting to a maximum of $55m.

As of 30 September 2025, the company has returned $34.7m to shareholders through purchase of 14.2m shares as part of this second tranche. On 22 September 2025, the company entered arrangements with Barclays Capital Securities Limited to facilitate its ongoing share buy-back programme to return the remaining $20.3m on or before 31 March 2026. The revised arrangements will come into effect in the event it is not possible to complete the second tranche under the existing arrangement. The revised arrangements are for a discretionary programme and include irrevocable, non-discretionary instructions to Barclays to continue to operate the buy-back programme during closed periods. Barclays will therefore operate the buy-back programme autonomously during those periods.

Directorate declaration

The company announced that Sunil Bharti Mittal, chair, and Gopal Vittal, non-executive director of Airtel Africa plc, have been appointed as non-independent non-executive directors of BT Group plc with effect from 15 September 2025.

Network infrastructure agreement with Vodacom

In August 2025, the company announced a strategic infrastructure sharing agreement with Vodacom Group in key markets, including Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC) along with access to international bandwidth infrastructure in Mozambique, subject to regulatory approvals in the various countries. The agreement marks a transformative milestone in promoting digital inclusion and expanding access to reliable connectivity across Africa and will initially focus on sharing fibre networks and tower infrastructure to accelerate the rollout of digital services in these markets.

The announcement follows the announcement in March 2025 when Airtel Africa and MTN announced network infrastructure sharing agreements in Uganda and Nigeria.

Update on Airtel Money shareholder put option

On 1 August 2025, the company announced that it and its affiliates have agreed with The Rise Fund, the impact investment platform of TPG and Mastercard, both minority shareholders in Airtel Mobile Commerce B.V. ('Airtel Money), to defer the exercisable date of their put options under their respective agreements by 12 months.

Migration of customers to advanced system verification platform in Nigeria

In May 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directed Airtel Nigeria and other operators to transfer all verified unique subscriber records in the SIM registration database from the existing NIN token system to a more advanced and secure platform, the High Availability NIMC Verification Service (HA-NVS). The initial cut-off date for transfer was 27 May 2025 which was subsequently extended multiple times to address the critical outstanding issues with respect to the transfer.

Subsequently, the existing NIN token platform was shut down on 26 June 2025 and on 3 July 2025, the NCC released the framework required for HA-NVS integration. The data migration exercise is still in progress; however, the new customer onboarding process has commenced effective 23 July 2025.

Partnership with SpaceX

On 5 May 2025, the company announced an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet services to its customers in Africa. With this collaboration, Airtel Africa will further enhance its next generation satellite connectivity offerings and augment connectivity for enterprises, businesses and socio-economic communities like school, health centres etc in most rural parts of Africa.

Currently, SpaceX has acquired the necessary licences in nine out of 14 countries within Airtel Africa's footprint and operating licences for the other five countries are under process.

 

Directorate changes

Following the conclusion of AGM on 9 July 2025, Jaideep Paul, chief financial officer (CFO) has retired from his position as executive director and CFO. Kamal Dua became an executive director and assumed the role of CFO following his appointment at the 2025 AGM.

On 1 April 2025, Cynthia Gordon was appointed as an independent non-executive director who will serve on the Group's Remuneration Committee.

On 9 July 2025, Akhil Gupta retired as a non-executive director of Airtel Africa plc in accordance with the announcement made on 13 May 2025.

 

Dividend payment timetable

The board has declared an interim dividend of 2.84 cents for the half year ended 30 September 2025, payable on 12 December 2025 to shareholders recorded in the register at the close of business on 7 November 2025.

                                                              London Stock Exchange (LSE)     Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX)

Last day to trade shares cum dividend                   5 November 2025                        4 November 2025

Shares commence trading ex-dividend                  6 November 2025                         5 November 2025

Record date                                                             7 November 2025                         7 November 2025

Last date for currency election                                25 November 2025                        25 November 2025

Payment date                                                          12 December 2025                        12 December 2025

 

Information on additional KPIs

An investor relations pack with information on the additional KPIs and balance sheet is available to download on our website at www.airtel.africa

 

Strategic overview

The Group provides telecom and mobile money services in 14 emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa. Our markets are characterised by a young and rapidly growing population, low smartphone penetration and a large unbanked population. Unique mobile user penetration across the Group's footprint is around 50% and banking penetration remains under 50%. These indicators illustrate the significant opportunity still available to Airtel Africa to enhance both digital and financial inclusion in the communities we serve, enriching and transforming their lives through digitalisation, whilst at the same time growing our revenues profitably across each of our key services of voice, data and mobile money.

The Group continues to invest in its network and distribution infrastructure to enhance both mobile connectivity and financial inclusion across our countries of operation. We continue to invest in expanding our 4G and 5G network to increase data capacity, deploy new sites, especially in rural areas, thereby enhancing coverage and connectivity.

Our strategy puts the customer at the core of our strategy. We believe that by ensuring great customer experience, we will deliver on our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa. Our consumer centric strategy is anchored on our 6 strategic pillars - strengthening our 'go-to-market', delivering best in class network experience, winning more in key markets, digitising and simplifying processes across the business, accelerating Airtel Money and scaling our home broadband business (HBB) and enterprise offerings.

Underpinning the Group's business strategy is our focus on cost optimisation, our ongoing sustainability strategy and the investment into our people to build and retain talent. Our sustainability strategy supports our well-established corporate purpose of transforming lives, our continued commitment to driving sustainable development and acting as a responsible business. Our sustainability strategy sets out our goals and commitments to foster financial inclusion, bridge the digital divide and serve more customers in some of the least penetrated telecommunication markets in the world.  

Strengthen 'Go-to-market'

We continue to strengthen our distribution footprint, especially our exclusive channel of kiosks/mini-shops and Airtel Money branches (AMB) along with multi-brand outlets in both urban and rural markets. During the half-year, the Group added over 308,000 Airtel money agents and over 56,000 activating outlets, enabling continued expansion of our customer base and strong growth in overall revenues. 

In addition to building on-ground distribution infrastructure, we also focused on building and leveraging digital tools to simplify the processes and enhance efficiencies for our own sales team members as well as our channel partners.

We also continue to accelerate our data revenue growth through a combination of smartphone adoption and improving ARPU's. Our smartphone penetration stands at 46.8%, an increase of 3.8% points from last year driven by our expansion of the 4G/5G network and stronger execution. Our data consumption has increased to 8.2 GB per data user, growing by over 23% year-over-year in H1'26 driven by improved network experience and customer lifecycle management programmes.

Best in class network experience

The Group remains focused on delivering best-in-class services, enhancing our 4G network availability, along with expanding newly launched 5G technology in key markets, such as Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Reaching underserved communities is a key priority and we continue to expand rural coverage through new site rollouts and investing in spectrum and technologies to support increased capacity to facilitate our corporate purpose of transforming lives.

We've rolled out around 2,350+ sites during the year and close to 3,000 4G sites: 98.5% of our sites are now 4G-enabled compared to 96.6% in prior period and we have over 1,700 5G operational sites in five markets.

As part of ensuring our services are future ready, in addition to purchasing spectrum, we grew our fibre infrastructure and 5G capabilities and remain committed to our investment into data centres to further support digital inclusion across our markets. We continued to strengthen our fibre business which is now delivering encouraging revenue growth. During the year, we added a further approx. 4,000 km of fibre, with a total of 81,000+ km now deployed.

Must win markets

Winning customers across all the markets through micro-marketing using network and digital tools is fundamental to our strategy and will enable us to drive both financial and digital inclusion. We aim to win in every micro segment by optimising our network to improve customer experience or strengthen our distribution where our network is already strong, so that we can acquire new customers with speed and precision. There are clusters of opportunities which have been identified across all OpCos which have been called out as "must win markets".  To ensure that we win across all must win markets there is stepped up investment on building people capabilities and driving a culture of collaborative working across functions.

In the broader urban areas, including smaller towns and emerging suburban peripheries, some micro-marketing actions include improving indoor coverage, network quality and delivering a seamless customer experience by enhancing our network through principles of community of interest. We are also strengthening our 5G coverage in these markets to cater to home broadband. In addition, we are enhancing our in-store experience and increasing our own store footprint.  This will allow us to strengthen our position as a reliable network provider, attracting new customers and retaining our existing base.

Rural markets present a big growth opportunity given the low penetration of both telecom and financial services. To tap the opportunity, our focus is on improving coverage and distribution expansion across all formats. With intensified network investment and focus on distribution excellence, we are confident that rural markets will contribute to a significant portion of our overall customer additions going forward.

Digitise and simplify

In line with our strategic pillar of 'Digitise and simplify', we have continued to accelerate our digital transformation agenda, deepening adoption, engagement and value creation across our digital ecosystem. Our focus remains on simplifying customer journeys, expanding self-service capabilities and leveraging data and AI to deliver seamless, intuitive experiences at scale.

MyAirtel app continues to anchor our single-app strategy for both telecommunications and Airtel Money services, serving as a unified digital gateway for millions of customers. In the first half of FY'26, digital adoption and total processed value grew by over 75% in reported currency compared to the same period last year, reflecting strong momentum in customer migration to digital channels and increasing use of app-based self-service. The app continues to drive meaningful volumes across core GSM and wallet use cases, including airtime and bundle purchases, peer-to-peer transfers and bill payments, with rising cross-usage between telco and financial services journeys.

To extend reach and inclusion, we have launched additional digital channels such as WhatsApp and Airtel Lite, enabling customers across a diverse landscape of devices and connectivity levels to access our integrated telco and wallet digital services. Our digital platforms are now designed to be universally accessible - even on the lowest-end handsets and smallest screens - ensuring no customer is left behind in the transition to digital.

We've also made significant strides in simplifying and digitising operations, through automation of customer journeys, enhanced zero-rating and platform optimisation that reduce friction and improve service quality. Investments in digital infrastructure, data and analytics capabilities and AI-led customer engagement are enabling greater efficiency and personalisation, laying the foundation for scaled adoption of digital products and services.

Accelerate Airtel Money

Limited formal banking penetration across our footprint continues to present a significant opportunity to expand financial access through mobile money. Our strategy remains focused on driving digital adoption, broadening our financial ecosystem and strengthening governance and execution across all markets.

·    Digital adoption: our digital-first agenda is central to every product launch. By streamlining MyAirtel app journeys and promoting self-service, we have materially enhanced the user experience. Airtel Money's smartphone customer penetration increased to 48.5% from 45.8% in H1'25, supporting higher customer activity and improved unit economics across key markets. Customers who migrate from feature phones to MyAirtel app on smartphones consistently demonstrate substantially higher average revenue per user, further reinforcing our transformation into a leading fintech platform for financial inclusion. Currently, 7.1% of the Airtel Money customers are app transacting users.

·    Ecosystem expansion: we introduced new use cases, including loans, savings and card-linked products, while expanding international money transfer corridors and onboarding new partners. Over 180,000 virtual credit cards have been issued in Tanzania and Uganda since launch, reflecting robust early demand and product-market fit. Multi-service users drive exponentially elevated ARPU levels compared to single-service customers, reinforcing the strategic value of deepening service adoption. 

·    Access and distribution: our dedicated, 47,000+ exclusive retail network has enhanced market reach and service quality. We continued to invest in our distribution network and our digital agent-onboarding process delivered a 27.3% increase in the non-exclusive agent base, further strengthening last-mile access. 

These initiatives drove a 20% increase in our mobile money customer base, reaching almost 50 million users, with continued strong growth in constant currency revenues.

Mobile money remains a key growth engine for the Group, with continued strong growth in revenues. We remain committed to building Africa's most accessible and inclusive digital financial services platform - one that delivers meaningful impact and sustainable value for our customers and stakeholders.

Scale home broadband (HBB) and enterprise

Airtel's investment in 5G networks has helped power capacity to service customer need for unlimited internet service across key cities in 5 markets. The demand for these services is evident in the scale of usage, with homes customers consuming on average 180GB per month across footprint.

During the reporting period, we have increased our investment into dedicated outbound sales teams which are focussed on attracting high value customers on unlimited offers, utilising our expansive 4G network. Further investment in ensuring customers have a seamless on-boarding to the home broadband service with MyAirtel app has helped improve customer convenience, particularly in the product use and recharges available across multiple integrated payment channels.

Enterprise services remain a key opportunity and focus. Nxtra by Airtel, the data centre division of Airtel Africa, broke ground in September 2025 on their second hyperscale data centre in Tatu City, Nairobi, as part of the Airtel Africa B2B strategy to boost data centre capacity across Africa. Anticipated to go live in Q1 2027, this will be the biggest data centre in Eastern Africa at 44 MW capacity and will have high density and high capacity ready in anticipation of hosting the new generation of servers. This construction follows the commencement of construction of a 38-megawatt data centre in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

 

Financial review for the half year ended 30 September 2025

Nigeria - mobile services

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of Operations
Revenue	$m	697	489	42.5%	49.0%	365	234	56.3%	49.4%
Voice revenue	$m	268	209	28.3%	34.7%	134	97	38.7%	32.7%
Data revenue	$m	357	229	55.6%	62.4%	192	112	71.7%	64.2%
Other revenue1	$m	72	51	41.6%	47.7%	39	25	55.3%	48.5%
EBITDA	$m	393	238	64.7%	71.9%	208	115	80.1%	72.1%
EBITDA margin	%	56.3%	48.7%	760 bps	750 bps	56.9%	49.4%	751 bps	749 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(138)	(92)	50.9%	58.5%	(72)	(43)	66.0%	58.6%
Operating profit	$m	236	155	51.9%	57.8%	126	72	75.0%	67.0%
Capex	$m	74	75	(1.3%)	(1.3%)	35	37	(4.3%)	(4.3%)
Operating free cash flow	$m	319	163	95.0%	107.2%	173	78	119.9%	106.1%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	53.6	48.7	9.9%		53.6	48.7	9.9%
Data customer base	million	29.5	26.3	12.2%		29.5	26.3	12.2%
Mobile services ARPU	$	2.2	1.6	32.9%	39.0%	2.3	1.6	43.8%	37.5%

⁽¹⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $71m in half year ended 30 September 2025 and $50m in the prior period.

 

Revenue grew by 49.0% in constant currency, largely driven by continued strength in the demand for data services further supported by the full period impact of tariff adjustments. In reported currency, revenues grew by 42.5% to $697m. The difference in constant and reported currency revenue growth was due to the devaluation in Nigerian naira from weighted average rate of 1,484 NGN/USD in H1'25 to 1,553 NGN/USD in H1'26. The constant currency revenue growth was driven by ARPU growth of 39.0%, while our customer base growth accelerated to 9.9%.

Voice revenue grew by 34.7% in constant currency, driven by voice ARPU growth of 25.7%.

Data revenue grew by 62.4% in constant currency, as a function of both data customer and data ARPU growth of 12.2% and 46.6%, respectively. Data usage per customer increased by 24.9% to 10.1 GB per month (from 8.1 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 4.2% to reach 52.8%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 12.7 GB per month compared to 10.9 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA of $393m improved by 64.7% in reported currency and increased by 71.9% in constant currency. The EBITDA margin increased 760 basis points to 56.3%, driven by the strong revenue growth and continued benefits arising from the cost efficiency programme. The strong margin performance was also supported by stable fuel prices and more favourable operating conditions.

Operating free cash flow was $319m, up by 107.2% in constant currency contributed by EBITDA growth. In reported currency, operating free cash flow increased by 95.0%, lower compared to constant currency growth due to lower reported currency EBITDA growth following the Nigerian naira devaluation.

 

 

East Africa - mobile services ¹

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue	$m	1,047	883	18.5%	15.6%	549	461	19.1%	14.4%
Voice revenue2	$m	518	439	17.8%	14.6%	273	229	19.2%	14.0%
Data revenue	$m	434	355	22.4%	19.6%	227	185	22.7%	17.9%
Other revenue3	$m	95	89	6.0%	4.7%	49	47	5.2%	2.0%
EBITDA	$m	505	418	20.8%	17.3%	275	221	24.8%	19.2%
EBITDA margin	%	48.3%	47.3%	92 bps	69 bps	50.2%	47.9%	229 bps	203 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(201)	(158)	26.8%	24.4%	(104)	(82)	27.2%	23.0%
Operating profit	$m	276	231	19.6%	14.9%	157	123	26.8%	19.6%
Capex	$m	124	156	(20.4%)	(20.4%)	81	79	2.7%	2.7%
Operating free cash flow	$m	381	262	45.3%	40.0%	194	142	37.1%	28.6%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	82.3	74.2	10.8%		82.3	74.2	10.8%
Data customer base	million	34.3	28.8	19.0%		34.3	28.8	19.0%
Mobile services ARPU	$	2.2	2.0	7.3%	4.7%	2.3	2.1	8.3%	4.0%

⁽¹⁾  The East Africa business region includes Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $517m in half year ended 30 September 2025 and $438m in the prior period.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $9m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and $6m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $86m in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $83m in the prior period.

 

East Africa revenue grew by 18.5% in reported currency to $1,047m and by 15.6% in constant currency. Higher reported currency revenue growth as compared to constant currency was primarily due to Ugandan shilling and Zambian kwacha appreciation. The constant currency growth was made up of voice revenue growth of 14.6% and data revenue growth of 19.6%.

Voice revenues were supported by customer base growth of 10.8% and voice ARPU growth of 3.8%. The customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution network.

Data customer base growth of 19.0% contributed to the strong performance in data revenues. We continue to invest in the network and expand our 4G and 5G network in the region. 1,467 sites are 5G enabled across four key markets. Data usage per customer increased to 7.3 GB per customer per month, up by 25.0%, with smartphone penetration increasing 3.5% to reach 43.7%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 9.0 GB per month compared to 7.4 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA increased to $505m, up by 20.8% in reported currency and up by 17.3% in constant currency. EBITDA margins of 48.3% as compared to 47.3% in the prior period, up by 92bps.

Operating free cash flow was $381m, up by 40.0% in constant currency, due largely to EBITDA growth and lower capex during the current period.

 

Francophone Africa - mobile services ¹

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of Operations
Revenue	$m	749	636	17.7%	14.5%	387	329	17.7%	14.2%
Voice revenue 2	$m	316	313	0.8%	(2.7%)	162	159	1.5%	(2.4%)
Data revenue	$m	370	260	42.1%	39.0%	192	138	39.5%	36.4%
Other revenue 3	$m	63	63	0.0%	(1.6%)	33	32	3.2%	1.1%
EBITDA	$m	296	244	21.5%	18.3%	153	130	18.1%	15.0%
EBITDA margin	%	39.5%	38.3%	124 bps	126 bps	39.6%	39.4%	15 bps	26 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(125)	(115)	8.5%	5.3%	(65)	(60)	8.5%	5.0%
Operating profit	$m	146	101	44.6%	40.4%	76	55	38.4%	34.8%
Capex	$m	87	66	31.2%	31.2%	56	43	30.4%	30.4%
Operating free cash flow	$m	209	178	17.7%	13.4%	97	87	12.1%	7.2%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	38.0	33.6	12.8%		38.0	33.6	12.8%
Data customer base	million	14.3	10.9	31.5%		14.3	10.9	31.5%
Mobile services ARPU	$	3.4	3.2	5.6%	2.8%	3.5	3.3	4.8%	1.7%

 ⁽¹⁾ The Francophone Africa business region includes Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Republic of the Congo and the Seychelles.

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the half year ended 30 September 2025. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $315m in the half year ended 30 September 2025.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $3m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and $2m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $60m in half year ended 30 September 2025 and $61m in the prior period.

 

Revenue grew by 17.7% in reported currency and by 14.5% in constant currency. Higher reported currency revenue growth compared to constant currency was due to an appreciation in the CFA. The constant currency growth has sustained its momentum in current period, reaching 14.2% in Q2'26 from 3.6% in Q1'25 following recovery in market trends and the benefits of sustained network investment and intensive focus on 'go-to-market' initiatives.  

Voice revenue declined by 2.7% in constant currency, as customer base growth of 12.8% was more than offset by a decline in voice ARPU reflecting interconnect rate reductions.

Data revenue grew by 39.0% in constant currency, supported by customer base growth of 31.5%. Our continued 4G network rollout resulted in an increase in total data usage of 61.3% and per customer data usage growth of 24.2%. 93.3% of sites are now on 4G as compared to 85.0% in prior period. Data usage per customer increased to 6.4 GB per month (up from 5.1 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 4.1% to reach 44.9%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 7.6 GB per month compared to 6.2 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA at $296m increased by 21.5% and 18.3% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The EBITDA margin improved to 39.5%, an increase of 124 basis points, because of continued strong revenue growth.

Operating free cash flow of $209m increased by 13.4% in constant currency, due to the increase in EBITDA partially offset by higher capex spends during the half year.

 

 

Mobile services

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue1	$m	2,495	2,013	23.9%	23.1%	1,303	1,026	27.0%	22.5%
Voice revenue	$m	1,100	960	14.5%	13.2%	567	484	17.2%	12.6%
Data revenue	$m	1,161	844	37.5%	37.0%	612	435	40.7%	36.0%
Other revenue	$m	234	209	12.2%	12.5%	124	107	15.5%	12.3%
EBITDA	$m	1,195	907	31.7%	30.8%	637	469	35.8%	30.8%
EBITDA margin	%	47.9%	45.1%	283 bps	283 bps	48.9%	45.7%	317 bps	309 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(468)	(365)	28.1%	27.7%	(244)	(185)	32.3%	27.9%
Operating profit	$m	655	494	32.7%	31.4%	355	254	40.1%	34.0%
Capex	$m	285	297	(4.1%)	(4.1%)	172	159	8.6%	8.6%
Operating free cash flow	$m	910	610	49.2%	48.2%	465	310	49.8%	42.1%
Operating KPIs
Mobile voice
Customer base	million	173.8	156.6	11.0%		173.8	156.6	11.0%
Voice ARPU	$	1.1	1.0	4.5%	3.3%	1.1	1.0	6.5%	2.2%
Mobile data
Data customer base	million	78.1	66.0	18.4%		78.1	66.0	18.4%
Data ARPU	$	2.6	2.2	17.2%	16.8%	2.7	2.2	19.2%	15.2%

⁽¹⁾  Mobile service revenue after inter-segment eliminations was $2,488m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and $2,009m in the prior period.

 

Overall revenue from mobile services increased by 23.9% in reported currency and by 23.1% in constant currency, with growth evident across all regions and services.  

Voice revenue grew by 13.2% in constant currency, supported primarily by the continued growth in the customer base by 11.0% as we continue to invest in our network and enhance our distribution infrastructure and voice ARPU growth of 3.3%. Total minutes on network grew by 8.8% while voice usage per customer at 293 minutes declined marginally.

Data revenue grew by 37.0% in constant currency, driven by both customer base growth of 18.4% and data ARPU growth of 16.8%. The customer base growth was recorded across all the regions supported by the expansion of our network. 5G is operational across five countries, with 1,702 sites deployed. Data usage per customer increased to 8.2 GB per customer per month (from 6.6 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 3.8% to reach 46.8%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 10.1 GB per month compared to 8.5 GB per month in the prior period. Data revenue contributed to 46.5% of total mobile services revenue, up from 41.9% in the prior period.

EBITDA was $1,195m, up 31.7% in reported currency and by 30.8% in constant currency. The EBITDA margin improved by 283 basis points year on year to 47.9%, following the strong revenue performance, a more stable operating environment and continued benefits from the ongoing cost efficiency programme.

Operating free cash flow was $910m, up by 48.2% in constant currency, due to the increased constant currency EBITDA and marginally lower capex during the period.

 

 

Mobile money

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue1	$m	623	466	33.9%	30.2%	333	244	36.5%	30.1%
Wallet services2	$m	299	226	32.4%	29.0%	163	119	36.9%	31.0%
Payment and transfers2	$m	262	194	35.4%	31.4%	138	102	35.4%	28.6%
Financial services2	$m	27	15	77.1%	72.9%	14	8	78.2%	69.9%
Others2	$m	35	31	14.8%	10.7%	18	15	18.7%	12.1%
EBITDA	$m	323	247	30.6%	26.8%	169	128	32.2%	25.6%
EBITDA margin	%	51.7%	53.0%	(129) bps	(138) bps	50.9%	52.6%	(166) bps	(181) bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(13)	(10)	35.5%	32.9%	(7)	(5)	31.2%	25.8%
Operating profit	$m	301	230	30.9%	27.0%	158	119	32.8%	26.0%
Capex	$m	24	10	137.3%	137.3%	20	6	233.5%	233.5%
Operating free cash flow	$m	299	237	26.1%	22.1%	150	122	22.5%	15.4%
Operating KPIs
Mobile money customer base	million	49.8	41.5	20.0%		49.8	41.5	20.0%
Total processed value (TPV)	$bn	88.8	63.8	39.2%	35.2%	48.3	33.8	42.9%	35.9%
Mobile money ARPU	$	2.2	2.0	14.1%	11.0%	2.3	2.0	16.1%	10.6%

⁽¹⁾  Mobile money service revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services were $494m in the half year ended 30 September 2025 and $361m in the prior year.

⁽²⁾  Wallet services comprise cash-in (deposits)/cash-out (withdrawals). Payment and transfers comprise P2P money transfers, airtime and bundle recharges, utility bill payments, merchant payments, cash collection, corporate bulk payments, and international money transfers. Financial services primarily include bank-to-wallet transfers, wallet-to-bank transfers, lending, insurance, wealth management and savings. Others comprises of retention revenues. For a full description refer to glossary on page 58.  

 

Mobile money revenue grew by 33.9% in reported currency, with constant currency increasing 30.2%. The constant currency growth was driven by revenue growth in both East Africa and Francophone Africa of 29.9% and 29.8%, respectively. The expansion of our distribution network underpinned our 20.0% customer base growth, whilst ARPU growth of 11.0% in constant currency reflects the increased range of services on offer as we continue to expand the ecosystem.

A 15.3% increase in TPV per customer to $318 per customer per month reflects both the enhanced ecosystem and increased user engagement. Q2'26 annualised total processed value exceeded $193bn in reported currency, with mobile money revenue contributing 20.9%[6] of total Group revenue during the half year ended 30 September 2025.

Regional split:

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	623	466	33.9%	30.2%	333	244	36.5%	30.1%
Nigeria	$m	4	2	136.4%	142.9%	2	1	113.2%	103.5%
East Africa	$m	466	349	33.7%	29.9%	250	182	37.5%	30.1%
Francophone Africa	$m	153	115	32.9%	29.8%	81	61	32.6%	29.0%
Mobile money customers	million	49.8	41.5	20.0%		49.8	41.5	20.0%
Nigeria	million	2.0	1.4	46.1%		2.0	1.4	46.1%
East Africa	million	38.9	33.0	18.0%		38.9	33.0	18.0%
Francophone Africa	million	8.9	7.1	24.3%		8.9	7.1	24.3%

 

Mobile money EBITDA was $323m, up by 30.6% and 26.8% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The EBITDA margin at 51.7%, a decline of 138 basis points in constant currency and 129 basis points in reported currency, largely on account of the renegotiation of intra-group agreements.

 

Upon expiry of the existing lock-ins and agreements that were established at the time of the minority investors' investment in Airtel Mobile Commerce B.V., the Group renegotiated the terms of intra-group agreements between the mobile services and mobile money segments during Q2'26. The revised agreements continue to be based on arm's length pricing and reflect evolving market dynamics. Effective July 2025, the primary amendment relates to retention revenue, currently classified as "Others" within the mobile money segment, which will be gradually phased out by March 2027. Furthermore, the revised agreements will result in an annualised cost increase of approximately $25m for the mobile money segment based on current year volumes.

The impact arising from these revisions will occur in phases, with EBITDA for the mobile money segment being impacted by $11m in Q2'26. As these are intra-group arrangements, they will have no impact on the consolidated revenue, EBITDA or growth outlook for the Group.

Operating free cash flow was $299m, up by 22.1% in constant currency, due to the increased EBITDA, partially offset by higher capex during the period.

 

Regional performance

Nigeria

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	699	490	42.6%	49.2%	366	234	56.4%	49.5%
Voice revenue	$m	268	209	28.3%	34.7%	135	97	38.8%	32.7%
Data revenue	$m	357	229	55.6%	62.4%	192	112	71.7%	64.2%
Mobile money revenue	$m	4	2	136.4%	142.9%	2	1	113.2%	103.5%
Other revenue	$m	72	51	41.6%	47.7%	39	25	55.3%	48.4%
EBITDA	$m	392	237	65.2%	72.7%	207	115	80.2%	72.2%
EBITDA margin	%	56.1%	48.4%	768 bps	761 bps	56.5%	49.1%	746 bps	743 bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	2.2	1.6	33.1%	39.2%	2.3	1.6	43.9%	37.6%

East Africa

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	1,425	1,159	22.9%	19.8%	755	605	24.8%	19.3%
Voice revenue	$m	518	439	17.8%	14.6%	272	229	19.0%	14.0%
Data revenue	$m	434	355	22.4%	19.6%	227	185	22.7%	17.9%
Mobile money revenue	$m	466	349	33.7%	29.9%	250	182	37.5%	30.1%
Other revenue	$m	90	87	3.6%	2.6%	46	45	1.1%	(1.7%)
EBITDA	$m	756	609	24.2%	20.5%	408	320	27.7%	21.5%
EBITDA margin	%	53.1%	52.5%	53 bps	29 bps	54.1%	52.8%	123 bps	94 bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	3.0	2.7	11.4%	8.6%	3.1	2.8	13.4%	8.5%

Francophone Africa

Description	Unit of measure	Half year ended				Quarter ended
		Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Sep-25	Sep-24	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	854	716	19.2%	16.1%	443	371	19.2%	15.8%
Voice revenue	$m	316	313	0.8%	(2.7%)	162	159	1.5%	(2.4%)
Data revenue	$m	370	260	42.1%	39.0%	192	138	39.5%	36.4%
Mobile money revenue	$m	153	115	32.9%	29.8%	81	61	32.6%	29.0%
Other revenue	$m	61	62	(1.7%)	(3.6%)	31	31	(0.4%)	(2.5%)
EBITDA	$m	376	307	22.6%	19.5%	195	163	19.6%	16.5%
EBITDA margin	%	44.0%	42.8%	122 bps	128 bps	43.9%	43.8%	13 bps	28 bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	3.9	3.6	7.0%	4.2%	4.0	3.7	6.2%	3.1%

Consolidated performance

Description	UoM	Half year ended September 2025					Half year ended September 2024
		Mobile services	Mobile money	Unallocated1	Eliminations	Total	Mobile services	Mobile money	Unallocated1	Eliminations	Total
Revenue	$m	2,495	623	-	(136)	2,982	2,013	466	-	(109)	2,370
Voice revenue	$m	1,100		-	-	1,100	960		-	-	960
Data revenue	$m	1,161		-	-	1,161	844		-	-	844
Other revenue	$m	234		-	(7)	227	209		-	(4)	205
EBITDA	$m	1,195	323	(71)	-	1,447	907	247	(67)	-	1,087
EBITDA margin	%	47.9%	51.7%			48.5%	45.1%	53.0%			45.8%
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(468)	(13)	(7)	-	(488)	(365)	(10)	(6)	-	(381)
Operating profit	$m	655	301	3	-	959	494	230	(18)	-	706

⁽¹⁾  Unallocated in the above table represents 'Headquarter costs'.

 

 

Related party transactions

Related party transactions are disclosed in note 16 to the condensed set of financial statements.

There have been no material changes in the related party transactions described in the Annual Report and Accounts 2025.

Risk factors

The risk factors summarised below relate to the Group's business and industry in which it operates. Additional risks and uncertainties relating to the Group that are currently unknown to the Group, or those the Group currently deems immaterial, may, individually or cumulatively, also have a material adverse impact on the Group's business, results of operations and financial position. The Group's principal and emerging risks and risk management process are described in the Annual Report and Accounts 2025. Based on the Group's assessment, there has been no changes to the Group's principal risks in the period. 

Summary of principal risks

The Group continually monitors its external and internal environment to identify risks which have the ability to impact its operations, financial performance or the achievement of its objectives.

1.    We operate in a competitive environment with the potential for aggressive competition by existing players, or the entry of new players, which could both put a downward pressure on prices, adversely affecting our revenue and profitability.

2.    Failure to innovate through simplifying the customer experience, developing adequate digital touchpoints in line with changing customer needs and competitive landscape could lead to loss of customers and market share.

3.    Global geopolitical and regional tensions have the potential to impact our business directly and indirectly due to the interconnectedness of the global supply chain. Relatedly, adverse macroeconomic conditions such as rising inflation and increased cost of living not only puts pressure on the disposable income of our customers but also increases the cost of inputs for our business negatively impacting sales and profitability.

4.    Cybersecurity threats through internal or external sabotage or system vulnerabilities could potentially result in customer data breaches and/or service downtimes.

5.    Adverse changes in our external business environment and macro-economic conditions such as supply chain disruptions, increase in global commodity prices and inflationary pressures could lead to a significant increase in our operating cost structure while also negatively impacting the disposable income of consumers. These adverse economic conditions therefore not only put pressure on our profitability but also on customer usage for our services.

6.    Shortages of skilled telecommunications professionals in some markets and the inability to identify and develop successors for key leadership positions could both lead to disruptions in the execution of our corporate strategy.

7.    Our internal control environment is subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate due to changes in internal or external conditions, new accounting requirements, delays, or inaccuracies in reporting.

8.    Our ability to provide quality of service to our customers and meet quality of service (QoS) requirements depends on the robustness and resilience of our technology stack and ecosystem encompassing hardware, software, products, services, applications and our ability to respond appropriately to any disruptions. However, telecommunications networks are subject to the risks of technical failures, aging infrastructure, human error, wilful acts of destruction or natural disasters.

9.    We operate in a diverse and dynamic legal, tax and regulatory environment. Adverse changes in the political, macro-economic and policy environment could have a negative impact on our ability to achieve our strategy. While the Group makes every effort to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations in all its operating jurisdictions in line with the Group's risk appetite, we are however continually faced with an uncertain and constantly evolving legal, regulatory and policy environment in some of the markets where we operate.

10.  Our multinational footprint means we are constantly exposed to the risk of adverse currency fluctuations and the macroeconomic conditions in the markets where we operate. We derive revenue and incur costs in local currencies where we operate, but we also incur costs in foreign currencies, mainly from buying equipment and services from manufacturers and technology service providers. That means adverse movements in exchange rates between the currencies in our OpCos and the US dollar could have a negative effect on our liquidity and financial condition. In some markets, we face instances of limited supply of foreign currency within the local monetary system. This not only constrains our ability to fully benefit at Group level from strong cash generation by those OpCos but also impacts our ability to make timely foreign currency payments to our international suppliers.

Given the severity of this risk, specifically in some of our OpCos, the Group management continuously monitors the potential impact of this risk of exchange rate fluctuations by comparing the average devaluation of each currency in the markets in which the Group operates against US dollar on a ten-year historic basis and onshore forward exchange rates over a one-year period, if available.

Additionally, for our Nigerian operations, management uses different sensitivity analysis for scenario planning purposes which includes the recent impact of the naira devaluation.

With respect to currency sensitivity going forward, over a 12-month period and assuming the movement occurs at the beginning of the period, a further 1% movement of the USD against all OpCos currencies would result in an estimated impact of $56m-$58m on revenues, $26m-$28m on EBITDA and $25m-$27m on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives). Our largest exposure is to the Nigerian naira, where a similar 1% USD movement would result in an estimated $13m-$14m impact on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives).

This does not represent any guidance and is being used solely to illustrate the potential impact of further currency devaluation on the Group for the purpose of exchange rate risk management and assumes all other variables remain constant. The accounting under IFRS is based on exchange rates in line with the requirements of IAS 21 'The Effect of Changes in Foreign Exchange' and does not factor in the devaluation mentioned above.

Based on above-mentioned specific methodology for the identified OpCos, management evaluates specific mitigation actions based on available mechanisms in each of the geographies. For further details on such mitigation action, refer to the risk section of the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 which can be downloaded from our website www.airtel.africa

 

Going concern

As stated in note 3.1 to the condensed financial statements, the directors are satisfied that the Group has sufficient resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the condensed financial statements.

 

Forward looking statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and markets in which the Group operates.

These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe," "anticipate," "could," "may," "would," "should," "intend," "plan," "potential," "predict," "will," "expect," "estimate," "project," "positioned," "strategy," "outlook", "target" and similar expressions.

It is believed that the expectations reflected in this document are reasonable, but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.

All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual future financial condition, performance and results to differ materially from the plans, goals, expectations and results expressed in the forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data within this communication.

Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to the following: the impact of competition from illicit trade; the impact of adverse domestic or international legislation and regulation; changes in domestic or international tax laws and rates; adverse litigation and dispute outcomes and the effect of such outcomes on Airtel Africa's financial condition; changes or differences in domestic or international economic or political conditions; the ability to obtain price increases and the impact of price increases on consumer affordability thresholds; adverse decisions by domestic or international regulatory bodies; the impact of market size reduction and consumer down-trading; translational and transactional foreign exchange rate exposure; the impact of serious injury, illness or death in the workplace; the ability to maintain credit ratings; the ability to develop, produce or market new alternative products and to do so profitably; the ability to effectively implement strategic initiatives and actions taken to increase sales growth; the ability to enhance cash generation and pay dividends and changes in the market position, businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of Airtel Africa.

Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements contained in this document reflect the knowledge and information available to Airtel Africa at the date of preparation of this document and Airtel Africa undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

No statement in this communication is intended to be, nor should be construed as, a profit forecast or a profit estimate and no statement in this communication should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of Airtel Africa plc for the current or any future financial periods would necessarily match, exceed or be lower than the historical published earnings per share of Airtel Africa plc.

Financial data included in this document are presented in US dollars rounded to the nearest million. Therefore, discrepancies in the tables between totals and the sums of the amounts listed may occur due to such rounding. The percentages included in the tables throughout the document are based on numbers calculated to the nearest $1,000 and therefore minor rounding differences may result in the tables. Growth metrics are provided on a constant currency basis unless otherwise stated. The Group has presented certain financial information on a constant currency basis. This is calculated by translating the results for the current financial year and prior financial year at a fixed 'constant currency' exchange rate, which is done to measure the organic performance of the Group. Growth rates for our reporting regions and service segments are provided in constant currency as this better represents the performance of the business.

 

 

Airtel Africa plc

Results for the half year ended 30 September 2025

Consolidated financial statements

Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

(All amounts are in US$ millions unless stated otherwise)

 

	Notes	For the six months ended
		30 September 2025	30 September 2024
Income
Revenue	5	2,982	2,370
Other income		14	12
		2,996	2,382
Expenses
Network operating expenses		572	463
Access charges		118	122
License fee and spectrum usage charges		146	127
Employee benefits expense		167	148
Sales and marketing expenses		395	311
Impairment loss on financial assets		5	5
Other operating expenses		146	119
Depreciation and amortisation		488	381
		2,037	1,676
Operating profit		959	706
Finance costs
- Derivative and foreign exchange losses
Nigerian naira		(54)	231
Other currencies		(36)	29
- Other finance costs		407	280
Finance income		(13)	(12)
Net monetary loss relating to hyperinflationary accounting	6	0	-
Share of profit of associate and joint venture accounted for using       equity method		(1)	(0)
Profit before tax		656	178
Income tax expense	7	280	99
Profit for the period		376	79
Profit before tax (as presented above)		656	178
Add: Exceptional items	8	-	231
Underlying profit before tax		656	409
Profit after tax (as presented above)		376	79
Add: Exceptional items	8	-	151
Underlying profit after tax		376	230
	Notes	For the six months ended
		30 September 2025	30 September 2024
Profit for the period (continued from previous page)		376	79
Other comprehensive income ('OCI')
Items to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Gain (Loss) due to foreign currency translation differences		146	(3)
Gain on debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income		-	0
Loss on cash flow hedges		(0)	(0)
Share of OCI of associate and joint venture accounted for using equity method		1	0
Cash flow hedges reclassified to profit or loss		(0)	-
Tax on above		0	2
		147	(1)
Items not to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Re-measurement gain/(loss) on defined benefit plans		0	(1)
Tax on above		(0)	0
		(0)	(1)
Other comprehensive income/(loss) for the period		147	(2)
Total comprehensive income/ (loss) for the period		523	77
Profit for the period attributable to:		376	79
Owners of the company		303	31
Non-controlling interests		73	48
Other comprehensive income/(loss) for the period attributable to:		147	(2)
Owners of the company		135	2
Non-controlling interests		12	(4)
Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to:		523	77
Owners of the company		438	33
Non-controlling interests		85	44
Earnings per share
Basic	9	8.3 cents	0.8 cents
Diluted	9	8.3 cents	0.8 cents