Airtel Africa plc has closed its financial year ended 31 March 2026 with what it describes as “a year of standout growth powered by strong fundamentals and disciplined execution,” underpinned by record customer acquisition, accelerating digital adoption, and improved profitability across its markets.
The telecoms and mobile money operator delivered one of its strongest operational years to date, driven by sustained investment in network expansion, deeper digitisation, and rising demand for data and financial services across its African footprint.
Record customer gains and accelerating digital usage
A central highlight of the year was the expansion of Airtel Africa’s customer base, which grew 10.5% to 183.5 million users, marking the highest net additions in the company’s history. Growth was particularly strong in data services, where customers increased by 14.8% to 84.2 million, supported by a steady rise in smartphone adoption to 49.5%.
This shift toward data-led consumption continued to reshape usage patterns across the network. Average monthly data consumption per user climbed to 8.9 GB from 7.0 GB a year earlier, reflecting deeper engagement with digital services, streaming, and mobile internet use. This surge in demand translated into a 16.2% increase in constant currency data ARPU, reinforcing the company’s strategy of positioning itself as a digital-first operator.
Airtel Money scales into a major financial ecosystem
The company’s mobile money arm also delivered significant momentum, reinforcing its role as a core growth engine. Airtel Money expanded its customer base by 21.3% to 54.1 million users, supported by wider adoption of digital financial services across payments, transfers, and merchant use cases.
Transaction activity surged sharply, with annualised total processed value (TPV) rising 49% to more than $215 billion in the fourth quarter alone. This growing ecosystem engagement supported an 8.6% uplift in constant currency ARPU, highlighting increasing customer reliance on the platform for everyday financial activity.
Strong financial performance and margin expansion
On the financial side, Airtel Africa recorded robust growth across key metrics. Revenue increased by 29.5% in reported currency to $6.415 billion, while constant currency growth stood at 24.0%, reflecting strong underlying demand as well as tariff adjustments in Nigeria and broader macroeconomic tailwinds.
Performance across regions was particularly strong in Nigeria and Francophone Africa, with constant currency growth of 47.5% and 17.1% respectively. Mobile services revenue grew 22.6%, while data revenue—now the largest contributor to group earnings—rose 35.2%. Mobile money also maintained strong momentum with 28.4% growth.
Profitability strengthened meaningfully over the year. Underlying EBITDA rose 30.4% in constant currency, with margins expanding to 49.3% and peaking at 50.3% in the final quarter. This improvement was driven by both revenue growth and ongoing cost efficiency initiatives.
Profit after tax increased significantly to $813 million from $328 million in the previous year, supported by stronger operating profit and a shift from prior-year foreign exchange and derivative losses to gains of $127 million. Basic earnings per share rose to 18.6 cents from 6.0 cents.
Investment, infrastructure expansion, and balance sheet strength
Capital expenditure rose 31.9% to $884 million, aligned with the company’s expanded investment strategy. During the year, Airtel Africa deployed more than 3,250 new network sites and extended its fibre footprint by approximately 3,200 kilometres, bringing total fibre length to 81,900 kilometres.
Looking ahead, capex is expected to rise further to around $1.1 billion in FY 2027, as the company accelerates investments in coverage expansion, capacity upgrades, home broadband, and data centre infrastructure.
Financial leverage also improved significantly, falling to 1.8x from 2.3x, supported by stronger EBITDA growth and disciplined balance sheet management.
Shareholders will receive a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, bringing the full-year payout to 7.1 cents, a 9.2% increase year-on-year.
Leadership perspective and outlook
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar highlighted both operational momentum and structural growth drivers across the business:
“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 emphasised the role of technology and digital transformation in driving efficiency and 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.”
Taldar also noted the rapid expansion in smartphone penetration and data usage:
“This focused strategy has contributed to a further 22% increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50% increase in data traffic and, together with another strong Airtel Money performance, supported a step-up in constant currency revenue growth to 24.0%.”
On Airtel Money’s performance and future plans, he added:
“Customer engagement continues to deepen, with app transacting customers up 74% and annualised TPV of over $215bn in Q4’26… we remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow, with the intention of undertaking the IPO in the second half of 2026.”
Looking ahead, he acknowledged cost pressures from rising energy prices but maintained a constructive outlook, emphasizing continued efficiency efforts and long-term growth investment across digital infrastructure, enterprise services, and financial inclusion initiatives.
The company enters the new financial year with strong operational momentum, expanding digital ecosystems, and an ongoing commitment to scaling connectivity and financial services across its markets.
GAAP Measures (Year ended)
| Description | Mar-26 ($m) | Mar-25 ($m) | Reported currency change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 6,415 | 4,955 | 29.5% |
| Operating profit | 2,115 | 1,457 | 45.1% |
| Profit after tax | 813 | 328 | 147.4% |
| Basic EPS ($ cents) | 18.6 | 6.0 | 212.2% |
| Net cash generated from operating activities | 3,195 | 2,266 | 41.0% |
Alternative Performance Measures (APM) (Year ended)
| Description | Mar-26 ($m) | Mar-25 ($m) | Reported currency change | Constant currency change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 6,415 | 4,955 | 29.5% | 24.0% |
| Underlying EBITDA | 3,162 | 2,304 | 37.2% | 30.4% |
| Underlying EBITDA margin | 49.3% | 46.5% | 280 bps | 240 bps |
| EPS before exceptional items ($ cents) | 18.6 | 8.2 | 127.7% | — |
| Operating free cash flow | 2,278 | 1,634 | 39.4% | — |