Revenue rose to $6.42 billion, up 29.5% in reported currency and 24.0% in constant currency, reflecting strong momentum across key markets, particularly Nigeria and Francophone Africa. Growth was driven by higher demand for mobile data and continued expansion of Airtel Money, alongside tariff adjustments and favourable macroeconomic conditions.
“This year delivered a very strong performance across both operating and financial metrics, reflecting the attractive industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers across our footprint. This backdrop, and the continued success of our strategy contributed to our highest level of customer additions, revenue and EBITDA growth. Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide-ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site-level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding and accelerating the rollout of myAirtel app, a single-touchpoint customer interface designed to streamline service adoption and deliver a more intuitive digital journey. This focused strategy has contributed to a further 22% increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50% increase in data traffic and, together with another strong Airtel Money performance, supported a step-up in constant-currency revenue growth to 24.0%.”
– Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa
Customer growth remained a key highlight, with total subscribers increasing 10.5% to 183.5 million, while data customers rose 14.8% to 84.2 million. Smartphone penetration increased to 49.5%, supporting a rise in average data usage to 8.9 GB per month, compared to 7.0 GB in the previous year, highlighting strong underlying demand for digital connectivity.
Airtel Money also recorded strong expansion, with customers rising 21.3% to 54.1 million and annualised transaction value surpassing $215 billion in the fourth quarter. This reflects growing adoption of digital financial services across Airtel’s footprint, reinforcing its position as a key fintech platform in Africa.
Profitability improved significantly, with underlying EBITDA rising 37.2% to $3.16 billion and margins expanding to 49.3%, peaking at 50.3% in the final quarter. Profit after tax increased sharply to $813 million, compared to $328 million in the prior year, while earnings per share rose to 18.6 cents from 6.0 cents, supported by stronger operating performance and improved foreign exchange outcomes.
Cash generation remained strong, with operating cash flow rising 41% to $3.20 billion. Capital expenditure increased to $884 million as the company expanded its network footprint with over 3,250 new sites and 3,200 km of additional fibre, bringing total fibre coverage to 81,900 km. Leverage improved to 1.8x from 2.3x, reflecting stronger earnings and balance sheet discipline.
The company also increased shareholder returns, declaring a full-year dividend of 7.1 cents per share, up 9.2%. Looking ahead, Airtel plans to raise capital investment to around $1.1 billion in FY27, focusing on network expansion, home broadband, and digital infrastructure, while managing near-term cost pressures from rising energy prices.
Overall, the results highlight continued strong execution, with growth driven by structural demand for data, digital services, and mobile money across Airtel Africa’s markets.
