Airtel Africa half-year profit rises 20.5pc to $452mn

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 30 – Airtel Africa’s profit after tax rose by 20.5 percent to 452 million dollars in the six months to September 2026, supported by higher revenue from data and mobile money services. The telecommunications group’s revenue increased by 28.2 percent to 3.82 billion dollars, while revenue growth in constant currency stood at 20.8 percent. Data revenue grew by 28 percent in constant currency to 1.57 billion dollars, while mobile money revenue increased by 25.8 percent to 840 million dollars. The company said its total customer base grew by 11.6 percent to 193.9 million across its 14 African markets. Mobile money customers increased by 22.4 percent to 60.9 million, with the value of transactions processed reaching an annualised 275 billion dollars in the second quarter, up 36.5 percent. Data customers rose by 15 percent to 89.9 million, while smartphone penetration increased to 51.6 percent. Average monthly data use per smartphone customer also grew to 13.3 gigabytes from 10.1 gigabytes a year earlier. Airtel Africa recorded revenue growth across all its regions, with Nigeria leading at 27 percent in constant currency. East Africa grew by 18.2 percent, while Francophone Africa recorded growth of 19.2 percent. Underlying EBITDA increased by 23.5 percent in constant currency to 1.92 billion dollars, with the margin reaching 50.4 percent in the second quarter. Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said the company had increased investment in its network to expand capacity and improve service quality as demand for data and financial services grows. He said rising fuel costs continued to put pressure on operating expenses, but the company was maintaining cost-control measures. Taldar also said the recent listing of Airtel Money was a major milestone for the group, which retained its shareholding and plans to remain a long-term investor in the mobile money business.