Airtel Africa LON: AAF reported what management described as an “exceptional year” for the 12 months ended March 31, 2026, driven by stronger operating momentum across mobile services and mobile money, a more stable macroeconomic and currency backdrop, and continued cost optimization. Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar and Chief Financial Officer Kamal Dua also pointed to rising energy costs as a near-term margin headwind and said market conditions are not supportive for an Airtel Money IPO in the first half of 2026.
Revenue growth and margin expansion
Taldar said improved macroeconomic and currency conditions over the past year helped the company “clearly demonstrate the growth opportunity across the region,” and Airtel Africa delivered constant currency revenue growth of 24% for the year. He added that revenue growth was “almost 30% in reported currency as currencies appreciated in a number of markets.”
Dua said revenue “crossed $6.4 billion,” growing 29.5% in reported currency and 24% in constant currency. For the March quarter, constant currency revenue growth was 22.3%, which he said was lower than the prior quarter because the company “partially lapped the Nigeria tariff benefit during the quarter.”
Profitability improved as well. Dua reported EBITDA of $3.16 billion, up 37.2% in reported currency, and an EBITDA margin of 49.3%, up 280 basis points. Management highlighted that the EBITDA margin reached an “all-time high” of 50.3% in the fourth quarter.
Operating metrics: customers, data, and Airtel Money
Taldar said Airtel Africa ended the year with 183.5 million customers, up more than 10%, and recorded customer net additions of 17.5 million. He added that smartphone penetration increased to 49.5%.
Within mobile services, Taldar said data traffic increased by almost 50% and usage per customer rose to 9 GB per month. He reported that data revenue grew 35% and “has now become the biggest component of revenue for the group,” supporting Airtel Africa’s longer-term growth outlook.
Mobile money continued to expand. Taldar said Airtel Money customers grew 21% to 54.1 million and that annualized transaction value reached $215 billion, up almost 50% year over year. He said mobile money revenue grew 28%, and noted that “adjusting for the intra-group agreements which have been revised, the growth would have come in above 31%.”
Taldar also described a mix shift within mobile money. Payments and transfers now account for 42% of mobile money revenues, up from 35% five years ago, while the financial services segment—covering offerings such as bank-to-wallet, lending, savings, wealth, and insurance—grew 61% in constant currency over the last year, with a five-year CAGR of 55%, according to management.
Regional performance: Nigeria strength, East Africa scale, Francophone turnaround
In Nigeria, Taldar said the company saw customers increase by around 10% and ARPU rise by almost 37% in constant currency terms. He reported constant currency revenue growth of 47.5% and said EBITDA margins increased by almost eight percentage points, contributing to 70.5% EBITDA growth in constant currency. He attributed the performance to sustained usage growth—particularly in data—along with the impact of tariff adjustments, an improved macro backdrop, stable diesel prices over the period, and cost efficiency measures.
Addressing analyst questions about whether growth could moderate as pricing benefits are lapped, Taldar said the company remains “very positive” about Nigeria’s prospects, citing low penetration, continued upgrades from feature phones to smartphones, strong data consumption, and opportunities in home broadband, enterprise, and mobile money. He also said Airtel’s early response to home broadband in Nigeria has been “very, very promising.”
In East Africa, the company’s largest region, Taldar said constant currency revenue grew around 18% despite a high base, while appreciating currencies helped lift reported revenue growth to 24%. He said EBITDA margins rose to “over 53%.” Later, in response to a question on competitive intensity, Taldar said competition “remains high,” but pointed to strong underlying metrics, including data customer growth of 15.7%. He also noted that an election-related ban on services in one key market affected fourth-quarter growth and that, normalized for that impact, quarter-to-quarter trends would look similar.
In Francophone Africa, Taldar said performance remained strong “despite the stronger comparables,” describing a “clear turnaround” supported by increased investment and improved customer experience. He reported constant currency revenue growth of 17.11% and EBITDA margins rising to 44%, with currency appreciation contributing to reported revenue growth of 21.5%.
Cash flow, leverage, dividend, and capital allocation
Dua said the business generated $803 million in free cash flow, nearly four times the prior period, despite increased capital investment. He also said earnings per share before exceptional items increased 128% to $0.186, and the board recommended a final dividend of $0.0426 per share, up 9.2% year over year. Combined with an interim dividend of $0.0284 per share, the total dividend for the year was $0.071 per share, according to Dua.
On leverage, Dua said lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.5x from 1.0x, while reported leverage improved to 1.8x from 2.3x. He also highlighted steps to reduce foreign currency debt exposure, saying holding company debt remains at zero and 95% of operating company debt is now in local currency, up from 93% last year.
The company’s previously announced $100 million share buyback was completed during the year, Dua said. He added that, at this stage, the board has not approved any additional buyback.
CapEx outlook, energy cost headwinds, and Airtel Money IPO timing
Management emphasized continued investment to “future-proof” the business. Taldar said CapEx was delivered in line with guidance, while Dua reported FY2026 CapEx of $884 million and guided to $1.1 billion for FY2027. Dua said FY2027 investment will be focused on three priorities:
- Coverage: expanding site rollout and underserved rural markets to deepen SIM penetration and extend 4G coverage.
- Capacity: selective 5G rollout, network modernization, and fiber expansion to strengthen transmission and resilience.
- New growth engines: scaling home broadband and accelerating data center investment.
When asked for a precise split of the $1.1 billion across categories such as home broadband, coverage/capacity, and new businesses, management said it could not provide that level of guidance. Taldar said, however, that the company is “not slowing down” on coverage and capacity and that “on an absolute basis, the spend on coverage capacities … would be higher than what we are spending in FY 2026.”
On cost pressures, Taldar warned that heightened geopolitical uncertainty has increased energy costs—particularly diesel—which is a key cost component given unreliable grid infrastructure in parts of Airtel Africa’s footprint. Dua provided a sensitivity, saying that if fuel prices move up 10% across Africa, the impact on the company’s P&L is roughly $35 million to $40 million at current diesel consumption levels. He added that diesel prices in Nigeria had risen more than 100% in the last 60–90 days, while other markets were seeing increases of 20% to 40%.
Dua said that if fuel prices remain at current levels throughout the next year, the impact on EBITDA margin—based on fourth-quarter revenue—would be roughly 2.5% to 3%, though he said part of that could be mitigated by cost efficiency programs. Separately, he said Nigeria would be able to “hold margin at the current level very comfortably” if there were no ongoing fuel-price impact.
On the Airtel Money listing, Taldar said market conditions are “not supportive for an IPO of Airtel Money in the first half of this year” due to geopolitical uncertainty, particularly in the Middle East. He said the company remains committed to listing Airtel Money “as market conditions allow,” with an intention to undertake the IPO in the second half of 2026. He added that preparations are progressing, but the company has not yet received a formal written extension related to the put option, though he said minority investors are “fully supportive” and engaged in IPO discussions.
About Airtel Africa LON: AAF
Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa.
Airtel Africa offers an integrated suite of telecommunications solutions to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.
The Group aims to continue providing a simple and intuitive customer experience through streamlined customer journeys.
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