By Kayode Ogunwale

Strong operating and financial performance reflects effective execution of strategy and consistent demand across our markets

Operating highlights

  • Our total customer base grew[1]by 9.0% to 169.4 million, with data customers increasing 17.4% to 75.6 million as the focus on bridging the digital divide across our markets continues. This, alongside a 4.3% increase in smartphone penetration to 45.9%, contributed to accelerating demand for data services with data ARPU growth accelerating to 18.5% in constant currency1 as data usage across our network increased by 47.4%.
  • Airtel Money continues to play a pivotal role in fostering financial inclusion with a 16.1% increase in customers to 45.8 million. As use cases continue to expand, customers are increasingly engaging with a wide range of offerings supporting a 35% increase in annualised transaction value to $162bn, and ARPU growth of 11.3% in constant currency.
  • Our strategic focus on great customer experience is underpinned by sustained network investment with the rollout of over 2,300 new sites to reach 37,579 sites and an expansion of our fibre network by 2,700 kms to over 79,600 kms. This investment continues to drive increased data capacity across the region with 4G population coverage reaching 74.7% – an increase of 3.4% from a year ago.

Financial performance

  • Revenues of $1,415m saw strong growth of 24.9% in constant currency and 22.4% in reported currency as currency headwinds continue to ease over the last three quarters. The acceleration in constant currency revenue growth from the previous quarter reflects not only the impact of the tariff adjustments in Nigeria, but also a strong performance in Francophone Africa reflecting the continued execution of our strategy focussed on the customer experience.
  • Across the Group, mobile services revenue grew by 23.8% in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 13.9% and data revenue growth of 38.1%. Mobile money revenues continued to see a strong growth trajectory, with 30.3% growth in constant currency.
  • EBITDA grew by 29.8% in reported currency to $679m with EBITDA margins expanding further to 48.0% from 45.3% in the prior period driven by continued operating momentum, more stable fuel prices and sustained benefits from our cost efficiency programme.
  • Profit after tax of $156m improved from $31m 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 $22m gain largely arising from the Central African franc (CFA) appreciation during the quarter.
  • Basic EPS of 3.4 cents compares to 0.2 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting higher operating profit in the current period and derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items increased from 2.3 cents in the prior period to 3.4 cents, as higher operating profits more than offset the impact of higher finance costs arising from the tower contract renewals undertaken during the previous financial year.

Capital allocation

  • Capex of $121m was lower compared to the prior period, driven largely by timing differences. Capex guidance for the full year remains between $725m and $750m.
  • We continued with our debt localisation programme aimed to reduce our foreign currency debt exposure with almost 95% of our OpCo debt (excl. lease liabilities) now in local currency, up from 86% a year ago.
  • Leverage has increased from 1.6x to 2.2x (an improvement from 2.3x in Q4’25), primarily reflecting the $1.3bn increase in lease liabilities arising from the tower contract renewals, as previously disclosed. Lease-adjusted leverage remains flat at 0.9x.
  • Since the commencement of the second tranche of the share buyback for $55m, the company has returned $16.9m to shareholders following the purchase of 7.1 million ordinary shares as of 30 June 2025.

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

“We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter. 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. 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. Our strategy continues to prioritise the customer experience, as demonstrated by the launch of Airtel Spam Alert—an AI-powered solution aimed at enhancing trust and delivering a safer network environment. This underscores our commitment to leveraging technology to lower barriers to smartphone adoption. With smartphone penetration at only 45.9%, we see significant headroom to drive further adoption and play a key role in bridging the digital divide.

Mobile money remains a cornerstone of our current and future growth proposition. With our customer base approaching 46 million and expanding by over 16%, we see significant potential to further advance financial inclusion through the continued growth of our financial services offering. The continued expansion of our mobile money portfolio and the advancement of enterprise and digital payments contributed to a 35% growth in annualised transaction value to $162bn. We will continue to focus on technology and the range of product offerings to deliver a differentiated experience for our customers.

The provision of these essential services and the strategic focus on providing a great customer experience underpinned the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth to 24.9%, translating into reported currency revenue growth of over 22% as currencies stabilise. This strong revenue performance and continued cost efficiencies contributed to further EBITDA margin expansion which resulted in strong EBITDA growth of approximately 30%, and we remain focussed on further margin improvements subject to macroeconomic stability. With a strong balance sheet and sustained network investment, I remain confident about our ability to capture the available growth potential across our markets and remain committed to efficiently and effectively delivering services that help to improve the lives, communities and economies we serve.”