Airtel Africa profit jumps 5x to $156 million as forex woes ease

Airtel Africa Plc reported a fivefold jump in first-quarter profit, signalling a strong recovery as the positive impact of tariff adjustments and an easing of currency headwinds boosted its bottom line.

Profit for the three months ended June 30 soared to $156 million from $31 million in the same period a year earlier, the company said in a financial statement. The telecommunications firm, which operates across 14 African countries, saw revenue climb 22.4% to $1.41 billion.

The results mark a significant improvement for the operator, which had seen profitability dented by persistent currency devaluations in key markets. The strong performance was underpinned by the full-quarter effect of tariff increases and continued strength in its Francophone and East Africa operations.

Demand for data services remained a key driver of growth. To support the surge in data consumption and enhance the customer experience, Airtel invested heavily in its network, rolling out over 2,300 new sites and adding approximately 2,700 km of fibre during the quarter.

Key Takeaways

• Airtel Africa reported revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter ended June 2025
• It gained $156 million in profits, up more than 4x June 2024 numbers
• Mobile money customers grew 16.1% in Q1 2025 to 45.8 million

The company’s bottom line, which surged more than fourfold, was significantly bolstered by higher operational profit and data operations, alongside mobile money. Data customers climbed 17.4% to 75.6 million, while mobile money users grew 16.1% to 45.8 million. This expansion drove a 14.5% increase in overall Average Revenue per User (ARPU) in constant currency.

× Sponsored

Data revenue gained the upper hand, rising to $549 million and towering voice revenues of $533 million. Mobile money revenue grew to $290 million with a continued strong performance in East Africa of 29.6% and Francophone Africa of 30.7%.

The first quarter’s annualised transaction value amounted to $162bn in reported currency. Mobile money revenue contributed 31% of total group revenue during the quarter ended 30 June 2025. Data however, contributed 34.1% to revenue, the highest in percentage points. There is still strong optimism in the telco’s Airtel Money product set to go public in 2026, and improvement in data use could be driving these numbers.

Airtel’s customer base grew to 169.4 million as the company continued to reduce its foreign currency debt exposure. The proportion of local currency OpCo debt increased to 95% as of 30 June 2025 from 86% a year ago.

Airtel Africa’s share price is up 5.35% in pre-market trading, following the impressive report. Investors are likely to be encouraged by the company’s strong financial performance and its futuristic plan to list its mobile money arm by June 2026.

“Mobile money remains a cornerstone of our current and future growth proposition. With our customer base approaching 46 million and expanding by over 16%, we see significant potential to further advance financial inclusion through the continued growth of our financial services offering,” said CEO Sunil Taldar, who succeeded Olusegun Ogunsanya in June 2024.

“The continued expansion of our mobile money portfolio and the advancement of enterprise and digital payments contributed to a 35% growth in annualised transaction value to $162bn. We will continue to focus on technology and the range of product offerings to deliver a differentiated experience for our customers. “