Airtel Africa has reported a strong financial performance for the year ended March 31, 2026, with revenue rising by 29.5 per cent to $6.42 billion, driven largely by rapid data growth, tariff adjustments in Nigeria, and expanding mobile money adoption across its African markets.
Airtel Africa financial results for FY’26
According to the company’s audited results, profit after tax surged by 147.4 per cent to $813 million from $328 million recorded in the previous year, while operating profit climbed 45.1 per cent to $2.12 billion.
The telecoms group said its customer base expanded by 10.5 per cent to 183.5 million users, marking its highest customer additions to date. Data customers grew by 14.8 per cent to 84.2 million, supported by increased smartphone penetration, which rose to 49.5 per cent across its operations.
Nigeria remained one of Airtel Africa’s strongest growth markets during the financial year. Revenue from Nigeria’s mobile services business jumped 52.8 per cent to $1.6 billion, while data revenue rose nearly 70 per cent to $820 million.
The company attributed the growth to strong demand for data services, expanding smartphone adoption, and tariff adjustments implemented in Nigeria during the period.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, said the company’s performance reflected “strong industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers” across its markets.
“Airtel Money has made strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion and product innovation this year,” Taldar stated.
Underlying EBITDA rose 37.2 per cent to $3.16 billion, while EBITDA margins improved to 49.3 per cent from 46.5 per cent a year earlier.
The company also disclosed plans to intensify infrastructure investments, with capital expenditure projected at approximately $1.1 billion for FY2027. Airtel Africa said the investment would focus on network expansion, fibre rollout, home broadband services, and data centres.
During the year, Airtel Africa deployed more than 3,250 new network sites and expanded its fibre infrastructure by approximately 3,200 kilometres, bringing its total fibre footprint to 81,900 kilometres.
The company’s mobile money business also recorded significant growth, with customer numbers rising 21.3 per cent to 54.1 million users and annualised transaction value surpassing $215 billion in the fourth quarter of FY2026.
Airtel Africa further revealed that it remains committed to a planned Airtel Money IPO in the second half of 2026, subject to favourable market conditions.
