Airtel Africa plc has reported strong growth in customers, revenues, and profits for the nine months ended 31 December 2025, driven by increased network investment, rising data usage, and rapid expansion of its mobile money business across its African markets.
The telecoms group said its customer-centric strategy continued to drive strong operating momentum, with total customers increasing by 10 percent to 179.4 million. Data customers rose by 14.6 percent to 81.8 million, while smartphone penetration increased to 48.1 percent. Average data usage per customer climbed to 8.6GB per month from 6.9GB in the prior period, supporting data ARPU growth of 16.6 percent in constant currency.
Airtel Money also posted a strong performance, surpassing 50 million subscribers to reach 52 million customers, up 17.3 percent. Annualised total processed value for the third quarter of the 2026 financial year exceeded $210 billion, representing a 36 percent increase, as digital adoption deepened across the group’s markets. Mobile money ARPU grew by 9.8 percent in constant currency.
Revenues for the nine months rose to $4.67 billion, an increase of 24.6 percent in constant currency and 28.3 percent in reported currency. Mobile services revenue grew by 23.3 percent in constant currency, with data revenues increasing by 36.5 percent and voice revenues by 13.5 percent. Mobile money revenues also grew strongly, rising by 29.4 percent in constant currency.
EBITDA increased by 35.9 percent in reported currency to $2.28 billion, with margins expanding to 48.9 percent from 46.2 percent in the prior period. In the third quarter alone, EBITDA margins improved further to 49.6 percent, reflecting strong revenue growth and continued benefits from cost-efficiency initiatives. Profit after tax rose sharply to $586 million from $248 million previously, while basic earnings per share increased to 13.1 cents from 4.4 cents.
Capital expenditure rose by 32.2 percent to $603 million as Airtel Africa accelerated investment in network and fibre expansion. During the period, the group rolled out approximately 2,500 new sites and extended its fibre network by about 4,000 kilometres, taking total fibre length to over 81,500 kilometres. Population coverage improved to 81.7 percent, while leverage declined to 1.9 times, supported by higher EBITDA.
Commenting on the results, chief executive officer Sunil Taldar said the performance reflects the strength of Airtel Africa’s strategy and long-term growth prospects.
“These results highlight the strength of our strategy, with strong operating and financial trends across the business,” Taldar said. “During the quarter, we accelerated investment to enhance coverage and data capacity while also expanding our fibre network.”
Taldar further said their strategic priorities remain to keep investing in best-in-class connectivity, accelerate financial inclusion through a mobile money platform, and deliver a great customer experience, and highlighted that the results reinforce the company’s confidence in the long-term potential of their markets and the ability to create value for all their stakeholders.
