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Airtel Africa Q2 profit rises 16% to $254 million

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In short

Total revenue expanded 25.7% in reported currency to $1.97 billion during the September quarter, supported by key regional currency appreciation. Operational discipline helped lift underlying EBITDA margins to a record 50.4%, yielding $993 million. This financial resilience was reinforced by a growing subscriber base alongside surging mobile internet consumption across African markets. In the data segment, revenue jumped 34.2% to $821 million as customer numbers climbed to 89.9 million.

Key points

  • Expanding subscriber counts and higher average revenue per user generated robust overall…: Expanding subscriber counts and higher average revenue per user generated robust overall quarterly revenue growth.
  • Favorable currency movements in Nigeria and Zambia significantly cushioned the business a…: Favorable currency movements in Nigeria and Zambia significantly cushioned the business against elevated financing expenses.
  • Accelerated smartphone adoption and data demand continue to provide critical long-term gr…: Accelerated smartphone adoption and data demand continue to provide critical long-term growth across core African markets.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The performance helped offset higher finance costs and inflationary pressure from rising fuel prices.

The company's September-quarter revenue rose 25.7% in reported currency to $1.97 billion, while growth in constant currency stood at 20.6%. The difference was partly driven by appreciation in currencies such as the Nigerian naira and Zambian kwacha.

Operating profit increased 28.5% to $659 million while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 29.4% to $993 million. The underlying Ebitda margin expanded 144 basis points year-on-year to 50.4%, its highest level, supported by operating leverage and cost-efficiency measures.

"Despite rising fuel costs continuing to exert inflationary pressure on our cost base, we delivered a record underlying Ebitda margin of 50.4% in Q2'27 through a combination of operational discipline, ongoing cost efficiency programmes and continued scale benefits," Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa, said.

The company's customer base expanded 11.6% year-on-year to 193.9 million, while its data customer base grew 15% to 89.9 million. The company's average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance metric, rose 12.2% to $3.4 in reported currency and 7.6% in…

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