Nigeria emerged as Airtel Africa Plc’s strongest growth market in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, with the telecom operator posting a 50.4 per cent increase in reported revenue, supported by strong demand for data services, higher customer spending and the full impact of tariff adjustments implemented in late 2025.
The group’s unaudited financial results released on Thursday to the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that revenue from its Nigerian operations rose to N685.869 billion during the quarter from N455.877 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. In constant currency terms, revenue grew by 29.8 per cent, reflecting strong underlying business expansion.
The Nigerian business also recorded a 58.4 per cent increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to N401.117 billion from N253.265 billion a year earlier, while EBITDA margin improved by 297 basis points to 58.6 per cent from 55.6 per cent.
The strong performance was largely driven by rapid growth in data consumption, continued customer acquisition and improved average revenue per user (ARPU).
Data revenue surged by 59.9 per cent in reported currency and 38.0 per cent in constant currency to N360.047 billion, while voice revenue increased by 42.6 per cent in reported currency and 23.0 per cent in constant currency to N261.479 billion.
Mobile money revenue more than doubled, rising 153.2 per cent to N6.845 billion, although it remains a relatively small contributor to Airtel Nigeria’s overall earnings.
Customer numbers continued to expand during the period, with Airtel Nigeria’s total subscriber base increasing 12.0 per cent to 60.1 million from 53.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025. Data customers rose 11.0 per cent to 32.5 million.
The company’s mobile services ARPU climbed by 35.4 per cent in reported currency and 16.8 per cent in constant currency to approximately N3,833.20, reflecting increased customer spending on voice and data services.
Airtel attributed the strong performance to sustained investments in network infrastructure, increased smartphone penetration and higher data usage across its subscriber base.
According to the company, smartphone penetration increased by 4.6 percentage points to 56.1 per cent during the quarter, while average monthly smartphone data usage rose sharply to 14.9GB from 11.8GB recorded a year earlier.
Operating profit in Nigeria jumped 70.9 per cent to N257.372 billion, while operating free cash flow increased 12.5 per cent to N224.516 billion despite significantly higher capital expenditure as the operator continued expanding its network.
The company noted that revenue growth in constant currency reflected the full lapping impact of tariff adjustments introduced in the fourth quarter of 2025, while reported revenue growth benefited further from the appreciation of the naira against the US dollar, with the average exchange rate improving from N1,585/$ in the first quarter of 2026 to N1,367/$ during the period under review.
At the group level, Airtel Africa maintained strong growth momentum across its 14 African markets.
Group revenue increased by 31.0 per cent in reported currency to N2.538 trillion, while constant currency revenue grew by 21.1 per cent.
EBITDA rose 36.6 per cent to N1.270 trillion, lifting EBITDA margin to 50.1 per cent from 48.0 per cent in the previous year.
Profit after tax improved by 27.0 per cent to N271.062 billion from N213.564 billion, while operating profit climbed 40.7 per cent to N858.363 billion.
Basic earnings per share increased to 4.4 cents from 3.4 cents in the corresponding period, while earnings before exceptional items rose to 5.4 cents.
The group’s total customer base expanded by 11.6 per cent to 189 million subscribers, while data customers grew 15.5 per cent to 87.3 million. Mobile money customers increased by 23.3 per cent to 56.5 million, with annualised transaction value rising by 51.5 per cent to more than N335.405 trillion.
Data usage across the network increased by 56.3 per cent as average monthly data consumption per customer rose from 7.8GB to 10.6GB, supported by smartphone penetration reaching 51.0 per cent across the group’s markets.
Airtel Africa also significantly accelerated investment in network expansion, raising capital expenditure to N532.541 billion from N165.649 billion in the previous year. During the quarter, the company deployed more than 920 new sites and expanded its fibre network to 82,100 kilometres.
The company further strengthened its balance sheet, reducing leverage to 1.7 times from 2.2 times a year earlier, while lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.5 times from 0.9 times.
Commenting on the results, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Taldar, said the company had begun the new financial year on a strong footing as continued investment in customer experience, digital adoption and network expansion continued to support sustainable growth across its markets.
He added that Airtel Money continued to expand financial inclusion across Africa and confirmed that London remains the company’s preferred listing venue for the Airtel Money business later in 2026, a move expected to unlock long-term shareholder value.
