In its latest quarterly results for the period ended in June, Airtel Africa has reported a profit after tax of US$ 31 million representing a 120% Year-On-Year growth as the telco’s services experience a steady uptake.
- The company’s revenue, however, declined by 16.1% hitting US$ 1.15 million due to macroeconomic factors such as currency devaluation in key markets like Nigeria.
- Airtel Africa’s customer base grew by 8.6%, reaching 155.4 million across the continent due to a 13.4% rise in data service users and 14.1% increase in mobile money subscribers.
- Currency devaluation led to the group’s accumulated costs of US$ 261 million, most of which was used in sorting out debts burdened with high interest rates.
“The continued revenue growth momentum once again reflects the resilient demand for our services, with sustained growth in our customer base and usage. Our superior execution enables us to capture these opportunities, whilst retaining our reputation as a cost leader across the industry,” said the group CEO, Sunil Taldar.
Airtel Nigeria, the group’s most prominent market, saw a revenue growth of 33.2% due to rising data demand. Data service revenue rose by a significant 41.3%, while Voice revenue leaped by 21.6%. Macroeconomic struggles in the country has continued to depress revenues and it is likely that its sustained revenues are held in place by its magnanimous customer base.
In East Africa, total revenue grew by 6.5% thanks to a data service revenue growth of 25.7% and a voice revenue growth of 12.4%. The region’s customer base in terms of voice service users rose by 10.8% boosted by the reduction of the interconnect rate between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Francophone Africa saw Airtel’s lowest data growth, with 2.9% due to pressing inflation across most countries in the region. Voice revenue in the region declined by 1.7% while data revenue grew by 15.2%.
The region, however, experienced an increase in customers due to more investment in the telco’s infrastructure and widespread mobile penetration.
EBITDA in Nigeria and Francophone Africa declined by 56.5% and 12.7% respectively due to a slowdown in revenue growth. In East Africa, however, increased by a slight 1.3%. Airtel Africa utilized US$ 43 million in taxes across all its markets, compared to US$ 70 million in the preceding quarter.
“Having visited most of our OpCos since I joined Airtel Africa, I am encouraged by the scale of the opportunity available across our markets in both the GSM and mobile money business. A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business especially in the enterprise, fibre and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa,” said Sunil Taldar.
Airtel has also projected risks that they are likely to continue encountering in their operations. Their continental spread faces stiff competition from well-established telcos. The group’s reluctance to popularize its mobile money option in potential markets like Kenya continues to peripheralize its presence in the East African country.
“We have initiated a comprehensive cost optimisation programme across the Group. We have already seen success in this project, with savings arising in network and distribution costs, and continued opportunities as contract renegotiations continue. We expect sustainable savings to continue as the year progresses,” said Sunil Taldar.
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