Airtel Africa incurred $89 million in loss after tax for the year ended 31 March 2024 in contrast to an after-tax profit of $750 million twelve months earlier after a long-standing currency crisis in its largest market, Nigeria, left the bottom line battered.
Nigeria contributes 30 per cent of the wireless operator’s revenue, according to the company’s financial reports released on Thursday, with East Africa, Francophone Africa and the telco’s mobile money business accounting for the rest.
Nigerian naira, which continues to face recurrent foreign exchange headwinds after a dollar scarcity, reaching back to pre-pandemic days, came to a head in March.
The local unit plunged to its record low after a second devaluation of the currency in seven months in January.
At $5 billion, turnover was slightly weaker by 5.3 per cent as all key revenue sources, except mobile money revenue, fell.
Airtel Money, the group’s fastest-growing unit, contributed 20 per cent more to the revenue pool than a year ago.
The mobile money unit has been esteemed as the brightest spot in the telco’s business, with talks around spinning it off into an independent entity already at an advanced stage.
The mobile money business, which has witnessed considerable transformation following the success of its payments unit Smartcash across the continent, is on course to launch an initial public offer of $4 billion any moment soon, Bloomberg reported in March.
Earnings for Airtel Africa took a hit from a $1.1 billion derivative and foreign exchange losses in Nigeria, which, alongside a jump in finance costs to $482 million, triggered a loss before tax of $63 million.
Airtel Africa incurred $1.2 trillion in loss due to foreign currency translation differences, which surged by 235.7 per cent yearly.
The total comprehensive loss for the year stood at $1.3 billion compared to a $397 million gain in 2023.
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“Key initiatives include the reduction of US dollar debt across the business and the accumulation of cash at the HoldCo level to cover the outstanding debt due fully,” said CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya.
“We will continue to focus on reducing our exposure to currency volatility,” he added.
Airtel Africa is currently undertaking a share repurchase programme as it seeks to splurge $100 million on buying back its own shares, which it hopes will strengthen the valuation of its stock.
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