Airtel Africa has posted strong operational momentum for the year ended March 2025 in its East African markets, where the appreciation of the Kenyan shilling helped minimize the impact of currency volatility that weighed on other regional markets.
- •In the region, Airtel’s revenue climbed 13.6% in reported currency and 18.8% in constant currency to US$1.84 billion.
- •The region’s customer base in the region rose by 11.7% to 77.6 million, with data customers increasing 18.4% to 31.5 million.
- •The Kenyan shilling’s appreciation over the course of last year helped offset the drag from weaker currencies like the Zambian kwacha and the Malawian kwacha.
“Voice revenues were supported by customer base growth of 11.7% and voice ARPU growth of 1.3%. The customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution network,” Airtel Africa said in its earnings announcement.
Data usage per customer in Airtel East Africa surged by 30.2%, reaching 6.2 GB per month, as Airtel deepened its 4G rollout and activated over 1,200 5G sites across key countries.
East Africa’s EBITDA rose 11.4% to US$877 million, while operating free cash flow grew 26% in constant currency to $585 million.
Nigeria, Francophone Africa, and Listing Plans
In Nigeria, reported revenue declined 30.4% to US$1.05 billion due to the sharp devaluation of the Naira. In constant currency, however, revenue surged 36.4%, supported by strong growth in both data and voice services.
“Data revenue grew by 44.5% in constant currency, as a function of both data customer and data ARPU growth of 6.3% and 32.1%, respectively. Data usage per customer increased by 33.4% to 8.4 GB per month,” the Telco reported.
In Francophone Africa, Airtel Africa registered modest growth with revenues rising 7.9% in constant currency to US$1.3 billion. EBIDTA margins in the year ended 2025 declined by 0.8% due to various regulatory changes and rising operational costs in key Francophone markets. Data revenue increased 24.1%, underpinned by a 23.5% rise in the data customer base and 44.2% growth in data usage.
Across the group, total revenue declined 0.5% in reported currency to US$4.96 billion but increased by 21.1% in constant currency. Airtel Money revenue surged by 29.9% in constant currency to US$994 million.
Airtel plans to list its mobile money unit in early 2026. The telco is betting on mobile money to drive growth, with Airtel Money now serving 44.6 million users and handling US$145 billion in annual transaction value. The service now accounts for over 20% of group revenue.
Airtel is also looking to broaden its data subscriptions’ customer base after partnering with Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink.
