Francophone Africa and Nigeria’s constant currency growth has lifted Airtel Africa’s profit after tax to $813million, an improvement from $328million in the prior period.
Higher profit after tax in the current period was driven by higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $127million compared to $179million derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.
“Francophone Africa and Nigeria constant currency growth was particularly encouraging, increasing by 17.1per cent and 47.5per cent respectively. In constant currency, the mobile services segment grew by 22.6per cent, with data revenues – now the largest component of Group revenues – increasing by 35.2per cent, while mobile money continues to see strong operating momentum, up by 28.4per cent. In Q4’26, constant currency revenues grew by 22.3per cent as Nigerian tariff benefits partially lapped during the quarter,” the telco said in a statement announcing its financial performance for 2026 fiscal year.
It said through sustained commitment to enhancing the customer experience, backed by continued investment in network and the integration of digitisation across the business, the carrier delivered a very strong performance.
“Our customer base increased by 10.5per cent to 183.5 million, marking the highest net additions to date. Data customers grew by 14.8per cent to 84.2 million as smartphone penetration rose another 4.7per cent to 49.5per cent. Data demand remains robust with data usage per customer increasing to 8.9 GB per month from 7.0 GB in the prior period, underpinning constant currency growth of 16.2per cent in data average revenue per users (ARPUs), reflecting the strength of our digital focus and customer first approach.
“Airtel Money continued to scale and deepen engagement, with an expanded customer base of 54.1 million, up by 21.3per cent year on year. Broader use cases and higher adoption across the digital platform drove 49per cent growth in annualised total processed value (TPV) to over $215billion in reported currency in Q4’26. This ongoing ecosystem expansion and increased customer activity supported an 8.6per cent uplift in constant currency ARPU, underscoring Airtel Money’s growing role as a trusted digital financial services platform.
“We achieved a strong 24.0per cent growth in constant currency revenues in FY’26, with reported currency revenues increasing by 29.5per cent to $6,415million, reflecting attractive industry fundamentals and focused operational execution, further supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and macro-economic tailwinds.
“The strong revenue performance and continued benefits from our cost efficiency programme resulted in underlying EBITDA margins of 49.3per cent, with all-time high margins of 50.3per cent in Q4’26 (Q4’25: 47.3per cent). Underlying EBITDA of $3,162million grew by 37.2per cent in reported currency and 30.4per cent in constant currency,” the telco added.
Basic EPS of 18.6 cents compares to 6.0 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 was driven by the same underlying factors, increasing from 8.2 cents to 18.6 cents.
On capital allocation, it said capex for the year increased by 31.9per cent to $884million, in line with our revised guidance. During the year, we rolled out 3,250+ new sites and expanded our fibre network by approximately 3,200 kms to 81,900 kms, strengthening network reach and resilience while supporting improved service quality. Capex guidance for FY’27 is approximately $1.1billion, reflecting accelerated investment to expand coverage and capacity, while also investing in home broadband (HBB) and data centres, as we reinforce our strategy to scale digital infrastructure to meet rising demand.
Leverage has improved from 2.3x to 1.8x, with lease-adjusted leverage also improving to 0.5x from 1.0x in the previous year, primarily driven by the improvement in underlying EBITDA.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, making the total dividend for the full year 7.1 cents per share, a 9.2per cent growth from the previous year, in line with our dividend policy.
Commenting on the trading update, Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, 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. This backdrop, and the continued success of our strategy contributed to our highest level of customer additions, revenue and EBITDA growth.
“Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding and accelerating the rollout of myAirtel app, a single-touchpoint customer interface designed to streamline service adoption and deliver a more intuitive digital journey. This focused strategy has contributed to a further 22per cent increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50per cent increase in data traffic and, together with another strong Airtel Money performance, supported a step-up in constant currency revenue growth to 24.0per cent.
“Airtel Money has made strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion and product innovation this year. Customer engagement continues to deepen, with app transacting customers up 74per cent and annualised TPV of over $215billion in Q4’26.
“Market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the anticipated timing of the Airtel Money IPO. We have made good progress and remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow, with the intention of undertaking the IPO in the second half of 2026.
“Our ongoing cost efficiency programme and strong top-line performance both contributed to underlying EBITDA margins of 49.3per cent, peaking at 50.3per cent in Q4’26. The recent increase in energy costs arising from the ongoing geopolitical events will likely lead to increased cost inflation, resulting in EBITDA margin pressure in the near-term. However, with a strong growth outlook, and an enhanced focus on cost efficiencies, we will look to limit the overall impact on our business.
“Our accelerated investment strategy remains focused on maximising value from our core growth businesses, while investing in new and fast growing areas, including enterprise, that will further advance both digital and financial inclusion and help transform communities across our footprint. I want to say a particular thank-you to our customers, governments, regulators and partners for their support and our employees for their ongoing contribution to our continued successes.”
