Airtel Africa plc has reported a strong financial and operational performance for the half year ended 30 September 2026, with revenue increasing by 28.2% to $3.823 billion. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew by 20.8%, reflecting continued demand for mobile connectivity, data services and mobile money across its African markets.
The telecommunications group, which operates in 14 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, recorded an 11.6% increase in its customer base to 193.9 million. Data customers rose by 15% to 89.9 million, while mobile money customers increased by 22.4% to 60.9 million, highlighting growing adoption of digital services across the region.
Data usage also continued to expand, supported by smartphone penetration reaching 51.6%. Average data consumption per smartphone customer increased from 10.1GB to 13.3GB, while data average revenue per user grew by 10.7% on a constant currency basis. Mobile money activity recorded further growth, with annualised total processed value reaching $275 billion in the second quarter, up 36.5%.
Underlying EBITDA increased by 32.8% to $1.921 billion, representing 23.5% growth on a constant currency basis. The underlying EBITDA margin reached 50.3% for the half year, while the second quarter delivered a record margin of 50.4%. Profit after tax rose to $452 million, compared with $376 million in the corresponding period last year.
Performance improved across the company’s key regions. Nigeria recorded constant currency revenue growth of 24.4% in the second quarter, while Francophone Africa accelerated to 20.3%. East Africa also delivered growth of 18.6%. Mobile services revenue increased by nearly 19% on a constant currency basis, supported by 28% growth in data revenue, while mobile money revenue rose by 25.8%.
Airtel Africa also accelerated its network investment, with capital expenditure more than doubling to $657 million. The investment supported the addition of approximately 4,200 sites to increase network coverage and capacity, improve service quality and support the expansion of services, including home broadband. The company also strengthened its balance sheet, reducing leverage to 1.6 times from 2.1 times.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar highlighted the company’s customer growth, expanding digital services and continued investment in network infrastructure. He also noted that Airtel Africa is increasingly using artificial intelligence to improve customer understanding, accelerate innovation, simplify customer journeys and strengthen fraud detection.
Taldar further pointed to the company’s record second-quarter EBITDA margin, achieved despite rising fuel costs, attributing the performance to operational discipline, efficiency and scale. He also highlighted the growth of Airtel Money and its contribution to financial inclusion across the markets in which the company operates.
The results come alongside progress in Airtel Money’s strategic development, with the company describing its IPO as a significant milestone. Airtel Africa confirmed that it would retain a shareholding and remain a long-term strategic shareholder in the business.
The board approved an interim dividend of 3.1 cents per share, representing a 9.2% increase. The company also returned $108.7 million to shareholders through its share buyback programme, reflecting its focus on maintaining shareholder returns while investing in long-term growth.
