Airtel Africa Records $523m PAT In Q3

Airtel Africa Plc has recorded profit after tax of $523 million in its third quarter financial results for the period ended December 31, 2022.

The telcom company released its Q3 results on the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Total customer base increased to 138.5 million, up 10.1 per cent as the penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving the data customer base up 13.6 per cent and mobile money customer base up 22.2 per cent.

Revenue in reported currency grew by 12.1 per cent, to $3.914 billion with Q3 growth of 10.7 per cent; revenue growth in constant currency was 17.3 per cent driven by double digit growth across all reporting segments, while mobile services revenue in Nigeria grew by 20.9 per cent, in East Africa by 11.9 per cent and in Francophone Africa by 11.8 per cent

Mobile Money revenue grew by 29.8 per cent, driven by 32.5 per cent growth in East Africa and 21.7 in Francophone Africa. EBITDA was $1.916 billion, up 12.6 per cent in reported currency and 17.4 per cent in constant currency, with an EBITDA margin of 49.0 per cent, increasing 20 basis points in reported currency and broadly flat in constant currency.

Profit after tax was $523 million, up 1.7 per cent, while earnings per share increased to 12.5 cents, up by 6.3 per cent.

Speaking on the company’s performance, chief executive officer, Airtel Africa, Segun Ogunsanya said: “providing affordable, innovative and essential services to customers in our 14 markets with unparalleled network quality and customer service is integral to our ambition of transforming lives across Africa.

“These strong results are testament to this strategy despite the current macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties. 

The execution of our six-pillar strategy continues to provide the foundation for growth, driving 10 per cent customer growth, supported by 14 per cent growth in data customers and over 22 per cent growth in mobile money customers.”

Ogunsanya noted that,  higher usage across voice, data and money have contributed to further Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth of over seven per cent, resulting in 18 per cent revenue growth in the quarter as penetration across each segment continues to increase.

He added that, “our strong operating performance, combined with continued focus on our capital allocation priorities has facilitated the de-risking of our balance sheet with the early repayment of $450 million HoldCo debt in July this yea

“We will continue to invest in expanding our network and evolving our service offerings to further deepen both financial and digital inclusion across our markets. We have especially focused on enhancing our spectrum footprint across all our markets.”

He explained that, “over the last nine months we have spent almost $490 million on 4G and 5G spectrum across key markets to improve network capacity and quality, future-proof the company for continued growth opportunities and facilitate economic progress in all our markets

“For the remainder of the financial year. we continue to anticipate sustained growth in the business with continued EBITDA margin resilience.”