Airtel Africa Posts $5.26bn Revenues, Declares 3.27cents Final Dividend

BY OLUSHOLA BELLO, Lagos

Airtel Africa Plc has posted a revenue of $5.255 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

Also, the communication company recommended a final dividend of 3.27 cents per share, making the total dividend for full year 2023 to be 5.45 cents per share, an increase of nine per cent in line with its progressive dividend policy.

According to the audited results released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, revenue grew by 11.5 per cent to $5.255 billion as against $4.714 billion in 2022.

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Airtel Africa stated that, “while each segment’s reported currency revenue growth was impacted by currency devaluation, they all delivered double-digit constant currency revenue growth. Across the Group, mobile service revenue grew by 16.2 per cent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.8 per cent and data revenue growth of 23.8 per cent. Mobile money revenue grew by 29.6 per cent in constant currency.”

Underlying EBITDA increased by 17.3 per cent in constant currency, and 11.4 per cent in reported currency to $2.575 million, with an underlying EBITDA margin of 49.0 per cent, reflecting the resilience of the Company’s operating model despite inflationary cost pressures.

Profit after tax stood at $750 million, a decrease of only $5 million, after including a higher foreign exchange and derivative losses of $245 million, while basic earnings per share at 17.7 cents was up by 5.2 per cent due to higher operating profits and exceptional items gain on deferred tax credit recognition in Kenya, the DRC and Tanzania partially offset by higher foreign exchange and derivative losses.

The total customer base grew by 9.0 per cent to 140.0 million, as the penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving a 16.9 per cent increase in data customers to 54.6 million and a 20.4 per cent increase in mobile money customers to 31.5 million.

The company stated that, “Capex increased by 14.0 per cent to $748 million, in line with our guidance, as we continue to invest for future growth. Additionally, we acquired spectrum in Nigeria, the DRC, Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya during the year.

“In July 2022, the Group prepaid $450 million of outstanding external debt at HoldCo. The remaining debt at HoldCo is now $550 million, falling due in May 2024. Cash at the holding companies was $398 million. Leverage was at 1.4x in March 2023, broadly stable despite $500 million of spectrum investment during the year.”

The chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, Olusegun Ogunsanya said: “over the last year, the operating environment has been challenging in many ways, yet our strategic focus on providing reliable, affordable and accessible services across our markets has enabled us to sustain our top-line growth momentum.”

He added that “our six-pillar strategy continues to provide the basis for stakeholder value creation by facilitating continued expansion of our services to enhance both digital and financial inclusion across Africa.

“This strategy will continue and will be underpinned by our sustainability strategy as articulated in our Sustainability Report published in October 2022.

“The macro-economic outlook remains volatile, but we are well positioned to deliver against the growth opportunities these markets offer, with a continued focus on margin resilience.”