Airtel Africa has reported another strong quarterly performance, underlining the company’s growth potential as rising customer numbers, increased data usage and accelerating mobile money adoption continue to drive robust financial results.
For the nine-month period ended 31 December 2025, the telecommunications and mobile money provider recorded significant operating and financial momentum, supported by sustained network investment, digitisation and innovative partnerships aligned with its customer-centric strategy.
Airtel Africa’s total customer base grew by 10% year-on-year to 179.4 million, while data customers increased by 14.6% to 81.8 million. Smartphone penetration rose by 3.9 percentage points to 48.1%, reflecting growing demand for digital services across its markets.
Data consumption per customer climbed to 8.6GB per month, up from 6.9GB in the prior period, supported by enhanced network capacity. As a result, data average revenue per user (ARPU) grew by 16.6% in constant currency, reinforcing data services as the company’s largest revenue contributor.
Airtel Money Hits Key Milestones
Airtel Money delivered another standout quarter, reaching two major milestones. The platform surpassed 50 million subscribers, ending the period with 52.0 million customers, a 17.3% increase year-on-year. In addition, annualised total processed value (TPV) for Q3’26 exceeded $200 billion, rising 36% to over $210 billion.
Growth was driven by a broader ecosystem of merchants and agents, stronger digital adoption and increased usage, contributing to a 9.8% increase in constant currency ARPU for mobile money services.
Group revenues rose to $4.67 billion, representing 24.6% growth in constant currency and 28.3% growth in reported currency, supported by currency appreciation and strong underlying business fundamentals.
Mobile services revenue grew by 23.3% in constant currency, with data revenues increasing 36.5% and voice revenues up 13.5%. Mobile money revenues also maintained strong momentum, growing 29.4% in constant currency.
EBITDA increased by 35.9% in reported currency to $2.28 billion, with EBITDA margins expanding to 48.9%, up from 46.2% in the prior period. For Q3’26 alone, EBITDA margins improved further to 49.6%, reflecting strong revenue growth and sustained benefits from the company’s cost-efficiency programme.
Profit after tax rose sharply to $586 million, compared with $248 million in the prior period, driven by higher operating profit and net derivative and foreign exchange gains. Basic earnings per share increased to 13.1 cents, up from 4.4 cents previously.
Capital expenditure increased by 32.2% to $603 million as Airtel Africa accelerated investment in line with revised guidance. During the period, the company rolled out approximately 2,500 new sites and expanded its fibre network by around 4,000 kilometres, bringing total fibre length to more than 81,500 kilometres. Population coverage improved to 81.7%, up 0.6 percentage points year-on-year.
Leverage strengthened significantly, with net debt to EBITDA improving from 2.4x to 1.9x, while lease-adjusted leverage fell to 0.7x, reflecting improved earnings.
Commenting on the trading update, Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, said the results demonstrate the strength of the company’s strategy and execution.
“These results highlight the strength of our strategy, with strong operating and financial trends across the business. We accelerated investment to enhance coverage and data capacity while expanding our fibre network, positioning us to capture the considerable growth opportunity across our markets,” Taldar said.
He added that increasing smartphone adoption, progress in home broadband, and deeper integration of GSM and Airtel Money services—supported by digitisation, technology innovation and AI—are enhancing the customer experience.
Taldar also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to financial inclusion, noting that Airtel Money’s growth and annualised TPV of over $210 billion underscore its role in expanding access to financial services across Africa. He confirmed the business remains on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026.
With disciplined cost management, accelerating revenue growth and continued investment in connectivity and digital services, Airtel Africa said it remains confident in the long-term potential of its markets and its ability to create sustainable value for customers, partners and shareholders.
