Airtel Africa reports strong FY26; profit skyrockets 147% to $813M

Airtel Africa reported a strong FY26, with revenue rising 29.5% to USD 6.41 billion and profit after tax jumping 147.4% to USD 813 million, driven by significant growth in its data and mobile money services across sub-Saharan Africa.

Airtel Africa on Friday reported a strong financial and operational performance for the year ended March 31, 2026, with reported revenue rising 29.5 per cent year-on-year to USD 6.41 billion, driven by growth in data and mobile money services across its markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Financial Highlights

The company's profit after tax jumped 147.4 per cent to USD 813 million during FY26, compared to USD 328 million in the previous year. Basic earnings per share stood at 18.6 cents against 6 cents a year ago.

Operational Performance and Customer Growth

Airtel Africa said its customer base increased 10.5 per cent to 183.5 million, while data customers rose 14.8 per cent to 84.2 million. Smartphone penetration improved to 49.5 per cent during the year.

Data usage per customer increased to 8.9 GB per month from 7 GB in the previous year, supporting constant currency growth of 16.2 per cent in data average revenue per user (ARPU).

Mobile money continued to remain a key growth driver, with the customer base rising 21.3 per cent to 54.1 million.

CEO Commentary and Strategic Outlook

Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, said, "This year delivered a very strong performance across both operating and financial metrics, reflecting the attractive industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers across our footprint."

He added, "Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies."

Airtel Money Update

On Airtel Money, Taldar said, "Customer engagement continues to deepen, with app transacting customers up 74% and annualised TPV of over USD 215bn in Q4'26."

The company stated that market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the expected timing of the Airtel Money IPO, but it remains committed to pursuing the listing in the second half of 2026, subject to market conditions.

Infrastructure and Shareholder Returns

During the year, Airtel Africa rolled out more than 3,250 new sites and expanded its fibre network by around 3,200 kilometres to 81,900 kilometres. Capex for FY26 increased 31.9 per cent to USD 884 million, while the company has guided for capex of around USD 1.1 billion in FY27.

The Board recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, taking the total dividend for FY26 to 7.1 cents per share, up 9.2 per cent year-on-year. (ANI)

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