Airtel Africa Plc has proposed a final dividend of 3.57 cents per share for the year ended December 31, 2023.
The company results on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed a resilient performance with strong underlying momentum, despite a volatile macro- economic environment.
The company’s end year audited results revealed that revenue declined by 5.3 per cent to $4.979 billion from $5.255 billion, reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.
EBITDA margins remained resilient at 48.8 per cent despite the currency headwinds and inflationary pressure on our cost base. Loss after tax stood at $89 million, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, resulting in a $549 million exceptional loss net of tax following the Nigerian naira devaluation in June 2023 and Q4, and the Malawian kwacha devaluation in November 2023. Basic EPS of negative 4.4 cents compares to 17.7 cents last year.
Also, the total customer base grew by 9.0 per cent to 152.7 million. Mobile money subscriber growth of 20.7 per cent, while transaction value increased 38.2 per cent in constant currency with annual transaction value of over $112 billion in reported currency.
The board recommended a final dividend of 3.57 cents per share, making the total dividend for full year 2024, 5.95 cents per share.
The chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, Olusegun Ogunsanya said, “the consistent deployment of our ‘Win with’ strategy supported the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth over the recent quarters which has reduced the impact of currency headwinds faced across most of our markets.
“This strong revenue performance is a reflection not only of the opportunity that is inherent across our markets, but also the resilience of our affordable offerings despite the inflationary pressure many of our customers have experienced.”
He pointed out that, “facilitating this growth has been, and will remain, fundamental to our performance. The investment in our distribution to catalyse growth, and the technology required to support this growth has been key.
“Furthermore, our rigorous approach to de-risking our balance sheet and our capital allocation priorities has materially reduced the risks that currency de- valuation has had on our business.
“Key initiatives include the reduction of US dollar debt across the business and the accumulation of cash at the HoldCo level to fully cover the outstanding debt due. We will continue to focus on reducing our exposure to currency volatility. At the beginning of March, we launched our first buyback programme reflecting the strength of our financial position.”
Ogunsanya added that, “the growth opportunity that exists across our markets remains compelling, and we are well positioned to deliver against this opportunity. We will continue to focus on margin improvement from the recent level as we progress through the year.”
