Airtel Africa Reports Strong Customer Growth and Mobile Money Expansion; Shares Volatile

Airtel Africa (LON: AAF) delivered a robust performance for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2025.

The company's focus on customer acquisition, network investment, and digital innovation is paying dividends, positioning it favorably in the competitive African telecom market.

AAF shares opened higher on Friday; however, they are now down on the day.

Revenues surged to $4,667 million, representing a notable 28.3% increase in reported currency and 24.6% in constant currency. This growth was fueled by strong underlying business fundamentals and supported by favorable currency appreciation.

The acceleration of constant currency revenue growth to 24.7% in Q3 '26, further boosted to 32.9% in reported currency, demonstrates the company's strong momentum.

Profitability also saw significant gains. EBITDA climbed by 35.9% in reported currency to $2,283 million, resulting in an expanded EBITDA margin of 48.9%, up from 46.2% in the prior period. This margin expansion was driven by revenue growth and the continued success of Airtel Africa's cost efficiency program.

Profit after tax jumped to $586 million, a substantial improvement from $248 million in the prior period, boosted by higher operating profit and foreign exchange gains.

Basic EPS reached 13.1 cents, significantly higher than the 4.4 cents reported in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items also increased to 13.1 cents from 6.2 cents, primarily reflecting the increased operating profits and derivative and foreign exchange gains.

The company is strategically allocating capital to fuel future growth. Capital expenditure increased by 32.2% to $603 million, supporting the rollout of approximately 2,500 new sites and an expansion of the fiber network by approximately 4,000 kilometers to over 81,500 kilometers. The infrastructure investment is aimed at enhancing coverage, capacity, and overall customer experience.

Airtel Money continues to be a key growth driver. The platform exceeded 50 million subscribers, reaching 52.0 million customers, a 17.3% increase. Moreover, the annualized total processed value (TPV) for Q3 '26 surpassed $200 billion, reaching over $210 billion, a 36% increase.

Improved financial health is evident in the company's leverage metrics. Leverage has decreased from 2.4x to 1.9x, while lease-adjusted leverage has also improved to 0.7x from 1.1x a year ago. This improvement is primarily driven by the increase in EBITDA.