Telecommunications giant Airtel Africa has reported a strong financial performance for the year ended March 31, 2026, driven by rapid growth in mobile data, mobile money services and increased smartphone adoption across its African markets.
The company announced that group revenue rose by 29.5 per cent in reported currency to $6.415 billion, while constant currency revenue increased by 24 per cent during the financial year. East Africa remained one of the key growth regions, posting revenue of $2.192 billion, representing an 18.9 per cent increase in reported currency and 13.8 per cent growth in constant currency.
According to the company, the stronger reported revenue growth reflected currency appreciation in several markets, including Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania. The East African business continued to benefit from rising demand for digital services, expansion of network infrastructure and wider smartphone penetration.
Mobile services revenue across the group climbed to $5.35 billion, marking a 27.6 per cent increase in reported currency and 22.6 per cent growth in constant currency. Voice revenue grew by 12.8 per cent while data revenue surged by 35.2 per cent as more customers embraced internet-based services.
Mobile money services also registered robust growth, with revenues rising by 36.3 per cent in reported currency and 28.4 per cent in constant currency. The performance was mainly supported by increased adoption of digital financial services in East Africa and Francophone Africa.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, attributed the growth to increased customer uptake, investment in digital infrastructure and the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Taldar said the company recorded its highest customer additions to date, supported by enhanced network coverage, digital innovation and improvements in customer experience. He noted that the rollout of AI-driven solutions and the expansion of the myAirtel application had improved customer onboarding and network efficiency across Airtel’s markets.
The company’s smartphone customer base increased by 22 per cent to 91 million users, contributing to nearly 50 per cent growth in data traffic during the year. Airtel Money also continued to deepen customer engagement, with app-based transactions rising significantly and annualised transaction value surpassing $215 billion in the fourth quarter of the financial year.
Taldar further revealed that market conditions linked to recent geopolitical developments had delayed the anticipated Airtel Money initial public offering (IPO), although the company remains committed to listing the business in the second half of 2026 once market conditions stabilise.
In East Africa, voice revenue expanded by 12.5 per cent, supported by an 8.7 per cent increase in the customer base and continued expansion of network coverage and distribution channels. Data revenue growth of 18 per cent was driven by a 15.7 per cent rise in data customers and a sharp increase in internet usage across the region.
The company said it continued to strengthen its network infrastructure, with more than 2,200 sites now enabled for 5G services across five major East African markets following the rollout of 5G connectivity in Malawi during the fourth quarter.
Data usage per customer rose by 28 per cent to 8 gigabytes per month, while smartphone penetration in the region climbed to 46.6 per cent. Smartphone users consumed an average of 9.8 gigabytes per month compared to 7.8 gigabytes in the previous year.
Across the group, Airtel Africa’s total customer base increased by 10.5 per cent to 183.5 million subscribers, while data customers grew by 14.8 per cent to 84.2 million users. Airtel Money customers also rose by 21.3 per cent to 54.1 million users.
The company posted a profit after tax of $813 million, up from $328 million recorded in the previous financial year. The increase was attributed to stronger operating profits and foreign exchange gains compared to losses recorded in the prior year.
Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 37.2 per cent to $3.162 billion, with EBITDA margins improving to 49.3 per cent.
Airtel Africa also increased capital expenditure by 31.9 per cent to $884 million during the year as part of its aggressive investment strategy aimed at expanding network coverage and improving service quality. The company rolled out more than 3,250 new network sites and expanded its fibre network by approximately 3,200 kilometres to a total of 81,900 kilometres.
Looking ahead, the telecommunications firm plans to increase capital expenditure to approximately $1.1 billion in the 2026/27 financial year to support expansion in broadband connectivity, data centres and digital infrastructure.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 7.1 cents per share, representing a 9.2 per cent increase from the previous year.
Airtel Africa continues to position itself as one of Africa’s leading telecommunications and mobile money providers, operating in 14 countries across sub-Saharan Africa with a strategy focused on digital and financial inclusion.
