Airtel Africa Plc has reported a revenue of $2.623 billion at the end of first half financial year results ended September 30, 2023.
The company revenue increased by 2.3 per cent against $2.565 billion reported in the same period of 2022.
The company recorded a loss after tax of $13 million against profit of $330 million posted in the corresponding period of last year.
According to a statement from the company “Loss after tax was $13 million driven largely by a foreign exchange loss of $471million recorded in finance cost before tax and $317million after tax because of the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023.
Total customer base grew by 9.7 per cent to 147.7 million, as the penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving a 23.0 per cent increase in data customers to 59.8 million and a 23.1 per cent increase in mobile money customers to 36.5 million.
Mobile money transaction value increased by 45.3 per cent in constant currency, with second quarter 2024 annualised transaction value of $116 billion in reported currency.
Across the Group mobile services, revenue grew by 18.3 per cent in constant currency,
driven by voice revenue growth of 11.5 per cent and data revenue growth of 28.1 per cent while Mobile money revenue grew by 30.9 per cent in constant currency.
The Board declared an interim dividend of 2.38 cents per share, an increase of 9 per cent, in-line with the company progressive dividend policy.
Group chief executive officer, Olusegun Ogunsanya on the trading update said “I am pleased to report a strong operating performance for the Group despite foreign exchange headwinds in many of our markets and specifically in Nigeria. The resilient growth in voice, data and mobile money usage levels reflects the inherent demand for these essential services across our footprint, and our six-pillar ‘win-with’ strategy continues to ensure we capture this growth opportunity by expanding our customer base and providing the platform to enable increased usage across the network. This strong momentum is supported by continued cost efficiencies which enabled further EBITDA margin expansion.
As reported in July 2023, our results for the first quarter were significantly impacted by the changes to the Forex market in Nigeria, introduced by the Central Bank. Whilst the changes are required for the long-term benefit of the Nigerian economy, the immediate impact of the naira devaluation continues to weigh on our reported financial performance in the period.
Our focus remains to enhance long term value by continuing to drive sustained and efficient growth. Over the last five years we have delivered constant currency revenue and EBITDA CAGR of 17.1 per cent and 20.7 per cent respectively, allowing us to further derisk the balance sheet and improve profitability across the Group.
Looking forward, he said “the delivery of affordable and reliable telecom and mobile money services across our markets remains our key focus. Our strong operating performance continues to make us a stronger and bigger company, which is well positioned to deliver against the growth opportunities these markets offer. Despite the challenges of rising diesel prices in Nigeria, we aim to limit the impact with continued operational leverage and further cost efficiency to deliver on improved EBITDA margin in the financial 2024 versus financial year 2023.”
