After a turbulent few years marked by spectrum investments, fluctuating profits, and an USD 89-million annual loss in 2024, Airtel Africa has bounced back during the first half of 2025. In its latest results, the company posted solid growth across revenue, profit, and customer numbers, signaling a renewed momentum in one of Africa’s most competitive telecom markets.
Following a USD 42-million spectrum acquisition in the DRC in 2022 and a year of strategic industry collaboration in 2024, Airtel Africa now appears to be reaping the rewards of its long-term bets on network expansion and digital inclusion.
Read More: Airtel Africa’s Past Financial Results
Financial Overview
Airtel Africa has reported strong financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2025, with revenue rising to USD 1,415 million, up 24.9% in constant currency, driven by robust growth in mobile services, data, and mobile money across its 14 African markets.
Data revenue jumped 38.1%, voice grew 13.9%, and mobile money surged 30.3%, especially in Francophone and East Africa. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 29.8% to USD 679 million, with margins expanding to 48.0%. Profit after tax rose sharply to USD 156 million from USD 31 million, while earning per share (EPS) improved to 3.4 cents, supported by higher operating profit and fewer currency-related losses.
Operational highlights include a 9% increase in total customers to 169.4 million, 17.4% growth in data users, and 16.1% growth in mobile money users. Airtel also expanded 4G coverage to 74.7% and added over 2,300 new sites, extending its fiber network beyond 79,600 km.
The company continued its debt localization efforts, with 95% of its operating company (OpCo) debt now in local currencies, and returned USD 16.9 million to shareholders via share buybacks.
Commenting on the results, CEO, Sunil Taldar, said:
“We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter. The strength of this performance, and the scale of the growth we achieved, reflects the sustained demand for our services and the strength of our business model to meet these demands.”
Airtel Africa’s H2 Strategy
Taldar noted that, operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9%, and 17.4% growth in data customers to 75.6 million reflects the company’s strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitization and the simplification of the customer experience (CX).
Taldar added that Airtel Africa’s strategy continues to prioritize the customer experience, as demonstrated by the launch of Airtel Spam Alert, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution aimed at enhancing trust and delivering a safer network environment. Airtel Africa will continue leveraging technology to lower barriers to smartphone adoption and mobile money will remain a cornerstone of its current and future growth proposition.
Looking to the future, Taldar noted:
“With a strong balance sheet and sustained network investment, I remain confident about our ability to capture the available growth potential across our markets and remain committed to efficiently and effectively delivering services that help to improve the lives, communities, and economies we serve.”
