Airtel Africa, one of Africa’s leading mobile operators, listed on the floor of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has continued to maintain leadership in the market as it is focused on executing excellent performance.
The total customer base grew by 8.6 per cent to 155.4 million. Data customer penetration continues to rise, driving a 13.4 per cent increase in data customers to 64.4 million. Data usage per customer increased by 25.1 per cent to 6.2 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing by 4.7 per cent to reach 41.7 per cent.
In its financial performance, the company’s revenue in constant currency grew by 19.0 per cent in Q1 ’25, driven by 33.4 per cent growth in Nigeria and 22.3 per cent growth in East Africa, respectively.
Reported currency revenues declined by 16.1 per cent to $1.156 billion reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria. Across the Group mobile services revenue grew by 17.4 per cent and Mobile Money revenue grew by 28.4 per cent in constant currency.
A substantial increase in fuel prices across our markets and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the Group after the naira devaluation contributed to a decline in EBITDA margins to 45.3 per cent from 49.5 per cent in Q1’24 and 46.5 per cent in Q4’24.
However, constant currency Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 11.3 per cent whilst reported currency EBITDA declined by 23.3 per cent to $523 million.
Profit after tax of $31 million was impacted by $80 million of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax), arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the quarter.
The translation impact of currency devaluation on reported currency results was the primary driver of EPS before exceptional items declining from 3.9 cents in the prior period to 2.3 cents. Basic EPS of 0.2 cents compares to negative (4.5 cents) in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the $471m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period, compared to $122m in the current period.
Capex at $147 million was 4.9 per cent higher compared to the prior period. Capex guidance for the full year remains between $725 million and $750 million as we continue to invest for future growth.
In line with our plan, we now have zero HoldCo debt following the full repayment of the $550 million bond in May 2024. In total, 86 per cent of our market debt is now in local currency, having paid down $828 million of foreign currency debt over the last year.
Leverage of 1.6x on 30 June 2024 compares to 1.3x in the prior period. Of the 0.3x increase, 0.2x was due to the decrease in reported currency EBITDA, with the balance due to an increase in lease liabilities.
The $100 million share buyback continues, with 21 million shares purchased for a consideration of $29 million as at the end of June 2024.
Sunil Taldar, Chief executive officer, said, “The continued revenue growth momentum once again reflects the resilient demand for our services, with sustained growth in our customer base and usage. Our superior execution enables us to capture these opportunities, whilst retaining our reputation as a cost leader across the industry.
“Having visited most of our OpCos since I joined Airtel Africa, I am encouraged by the scale of the opportunity available across our markets in both the GSM and mobile money business. A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business, especially in the enterprise, fibre and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa.
“We will build on the strong foundation established over many years to deliver on these new business opportunities. Most importantly, our emphasis is on significantly improving customer experience by simplifying customer journeys and providing best-in-class network experience to our customers, whilst remaining focused on driving efficiencies across the business.
“We have initiated a comprehensive cost optimisation programme across the Group. We have already seen success in this project, with savings arising in network and distribution costs, and continued opportunities as contract renegotiations continue. We expect sustainable savings to continue as the year progresses”
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