Airtel Africa plc

Results for year ended 31 March 2026

8 May 2026

A year of standout growth powered by strong fundamentals and disciplined execution

Operating highlights

·   Through our sustained commitment to enhancing the customer experience, backed by continued investment in our network and the integration of digitisation across the business, we delivered a very strong performance. Our customer base increased by 10.5% to 183.5 million, marking the highest net additions to date. Data customers grew by 14.8% to 84.2 million as smartphone penetration rose another 4.7% to 49.5%. Data demand remains robust with data usage per customer increasing to 8.9 GB per month from 7.0 GB in the prior period, underpinning constant currency^[1] growth of 16.2% in data ARPUs, reflecting the strength of our digital focus and customer first approach.

·   Airtel Money continued to scale and deepen engagement, with an expanded customer base of 54.1 million, up by 21.3% year‑on‑year. Broader use cases and higher adoption across the digital platform drove 49% growth in annualised total processed value (TPV) to over $215bn in reported currency in Q4'26. This ongoing ecosystem expansion and increased customer activity supported an 8.6% uplift in constant‑currency ARPU, underscoring Airtel Money's growing role as a trusted digital financial services platform.

Financial performance

·   We achieved a strong 24.0% growth in constant currency revenues in FY'26, with reported currency revenues increasing by 29.5% to $6,415m, reflecting attractive industry fundamentals and focused operational execution, further supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and macroeconomic tailwinds. Francophone Africa and Nigeria constant currency growth was particularly encouraging, increasing by 17.1% and 47.5% respectively. In constant currency, the mobile services segment grew by 22.6%, with data revenues - now the largest component of Group revenues - increasing by 35.2%, while mobile money continues to see strong operating momentum, up by 28.4%. In Q4'26, constant currency revenues grew by 22.3% as Nigerian tariff benefits partially lapped during the quarter.

·  The strong revenue performance and continued benefits from our cost efficiency programme resulted in underlying EBITDA[2] margins of 49.3%, with all-time high margins of 50.3% in Q4'26 (Q4'25: 47.3%). Underlying EBITDA of $3,162m grew by 37.2% in reported currency and 30.4% in constant currency.

·   Profit after tax of $813m improved from $328m in the prior period. Higher profit after tax in the current period was driven by higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $127m compared to $179m derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.

·   Basic EPS of 18.6 cents compares to 6.0 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the growth in operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period, compared to losses in the prior period. EPS before exceptional items was driven by the same underlying factors, increasing from 8.2 cents to 18.6 cents.

Capital allocation

·   Capex for the year increased by 31.9% to $884m, in line with our revised guidance. During the year, we rolled out 3,250+ new sites and expanded our fibre network by approximately 3,200 kms to 81,900 kms, strengthening network reach and resilience while supporting improved service quality.  Capex guidance for FY'27 is approximately $1.1bn, reflecting accelerated investment to expand coverage and capacity, while also investing in home broadband (HBB) and data centres, as we reinforce our strategy to scale digital infrastructure to meet rising demand.

·   Leverage has improved from 2.3x to 1.8x, with lease-adjusted leverage also improving to 0.5x from 1.0x in the previous year, primarily driven by the improvement in underlying EBITDA.

·   The Board has recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents per share, making the total dividend for the full year 7.1 cents per share, a 9.2% growth from the previous year, in line with our dividend policy.

Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, on the trading update:

"This year delivered a very strong performance across both operating and financial metrics, reflecting the attractive industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers across our footprint. This backdrop, and the continued success of our strategy contributed to our highest level of customer additions, revenue and EBITDA growth. Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide‑ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site‑level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding and accelerating the rollout of myAirtel app, a single-touchpoint customer interface designed to streamline service adoption and deliver a more intuitive digital journey. This focused strategy has contributed to a further 22% increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50% increase in data traffic and, together with another strong Airtel Money performance, supported a step-up in constant‑currency revenue growth to 24.0%.

Airtel Money has made strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion and product innovation this year. Customer engagement continues to deepen, with app transacting customers up 74% and annualised TPV of over $215bn in Q4'26. Market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the anticipated timing of the Airtel Money IPO. We have made good progress and remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow, with the intention of undertaking the IPO in the second half of 2026.

Our ongoing cost efficiency programme and strong top-line performance both contributed to underlying EBITDA margins of 49.3%, peaking at 50.3% in Q4'26. The recent increase in energy costs arising from the ongoing geopolitical events will likely lead to increased cost inflation, resulting in EBITDA margin pressure in the near-term. However, with a strong growth outlook, and an enhanced focus on cost efficiencies, we will look to limit the overall impact on our business.

Our accelerated investment strategy remains focused on maximising value from our core growth businesses, while investing in new and fast‑growing areas, including enterprise, that will further advance both digital and financial inclusion and help transform communities across our footprint. I want to say a particular thank-you to our customers, governments, regulators and partners for their support and our employees for their ongoing contribution to our continued successes."

 

GAAP measures (Year ended)
Description	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency
	$m	$m	change
Revenue	6,415	4,955	29.5%
Operating profit	2,115	1,457	45.1%
Profit after tax	813	328	147.4%
Basic EPS ($ cents)	18.6	6.0	212.2%
Net cash generated from operating activities	3,195	2,266	41.0%

 

Alternative performance measures (APM)[3] (Year ended)
Description	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency	Constant currency
	$m	$m	change	change
Revenue	6,415	4,955	29.5%	24.0%
Underlying EBITDA	3,162	2,304	37.2%	30.4%
Underlying EBITDA margin	49.3%	46.5%	280 bps	240 bps
EPS before exceptional items ($ cents)	18.6	8.2	127.7%
Operating free cash flow	2,278	1,634	39.4%

About Airtel Africa

Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with operations in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Airtel Africa provides an integrated offer to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.

The company's strategy is focused on providing a great customer experience across the entire footprint, enabling our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa.

 

Enquiries

Airtel Africa - investor relations Alastair Jones Investor.relations@africa.airtel.com	+44 7464 830 011 +44 207 493 9315
Hudson Sandler Nick Lyon Nelly Apaka airtelafrica@hudsonsandler.com	+44 207 796 4133

 

 

Conference call

Management will host an analyst and investor conference call at 13:00pm UK time (GMT) on Friday 8 May 2026, including a 'Question-and-Answer' session.

To receive an invitation with the dial in numbers to participate in the event, please register beforehand using the following link:

Conference call registration link

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key consolidated financial information

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change %	Constant currency change %	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change %	Constant currency change %
Profit and loss summary
Revenue 1	$m	6,415	4,955	29.5%	24.0%	1,748	1,317	32.7%	22.3%
Voice revenue	$m	2,318	1,964	18.0%	12.8%	613	508	20.6%	10.9%
Data revenue	$m	2,530	1,804	40.3%	35.2%	705	498	41.5%	31.8%
Mobile money revenue 2	$m	1,355	994	36.3%	28.4%	369	263	40.2%	25.7%
Other revenue	$m	480	417	15.2%	12.0%	131	108	20.4%	13.5%
Expenses	$m	(3,280)	(2,673)	22.7%	18.4%	(873)	(699)	24.9%	16.9%
Underlying EBITDA 3	$m	3,162	2,304	37.2%	30.4%	879	623	41.0%	27.8%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	49.3%	46.5%	280 bps	240 bps	50.3%	47.3%	295 bps	214 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(1,047)	(831)	26.1%	21.7%	(290)	(231)	25.9%	18.0%
Operating exceptional items 4	$m	-	(16)			-	(16)
Operating profit	$m	2,115	1,457	45.1%	36.8%	589	376	56.6%	39.4%
Other finance cost - net of finance income 5	$m	(713)	(735)	(3.1%)		(207)	(221)	(6.5%)
Finance cost - exceptional items 6	$m	-	(87)			-	-
Total finance cost	$m	(713)	(822)	(13.3%)		(207)	(221)	(6.5%)
Net monetary gain relating to hyperinflationary accounting	$m	17	26	(36.1%)		15	12	19.0%
Profit before tax	$m	1,419	661	114.5%		396	167	136.9%
Tax	$m	(606)	(363)	67.1%		(169)	(87)	95.0%
Tax - exceptional items 6	$m	-	30			-	-
Total tax charge	$m	(606)	(333)	82.0%		(169)	(87)	95.0%
Profit after tax	$m	813	328	147.4%		227	80	183.3%
Non-controlling interest	$m	(134)	(108)	24.5%		(28)	(24)	20.1%
Profit attributable to owners of the company - before exceptional items	$m	679	302	124.4%		199	72	174.5%
Profit attributable to owners of the company	$m	679	220	207.7%		199	56	253.6%
EPS - before exceptional items	cents	18.6	8.2	127.7%		5.5	2.0	176.4%
Basic EPS	cents	18.6	6.0	212.2%		5.5	1.5	256.2%
Weighted average number of shares	million	3,650	3,703	(1.4%)		3,645	3,672	(0.7%)
Capex	$m	884	670	31.9%		281	214	31.3%
Operating free cash flow	$m	2,278	1,634	39.4%		598	409	46.1%
Net cash generated from operating activities	$m	3,195	2,266	41.0%		889	643	38.1%
Net debt	$m	5,590	5,363			5,590	5,363
Leverage (net debt to underlying EBITDA)	times	1.8x	2.3x			1.8x	2.3x
Lease-adjusted leverage	times	0.5x	1.0x			0.5x	1.0x
Return on capital employed	%	23.1%	19.6%	355 bps		23.1%	19.4%	376 bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	3.1	2.6	17.8%	12.8%	3.2	2.7	20.6%	11.1%
Total customer base	million	183.5	166.1	10.5%		183.5	166.1	10.5%
Data customer base	million	84.2	73.4	14.8%		84.2	73.4	14.8%
Mobile money customer base	million	54.1	44.6	21.3%		54.1	44.6	21.3%

All commentary in the footnotes refers to the year ended 31 March 2026 and the prior period (31 March 2025) unless otherwise stated.

 

(1)     Revenue includes inter-segment eliminations of $268m and $224m for the prior period.

(2)     Mobile money revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services were $1,087m and $770m for the prior period.

(3)     Underlying EBITDA includes other income of $27m and $22m for the prior period.

(4)     Operating exceptional items of $16m in the prior period relates to a provision for settlement of a legal dispute in a former Group subsidiary.

(5)     Other finance cost: net of finance income includes derivative and foreign exchange gains of $127m in the current period and losses of $92m in the prior period which has not been treated as exceptional items.

(6)     Exceptional items in the prior period of $87m relate to derivative and foreign exchange losses due to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in Q1'25 and Q2'25, partially offset by exceptional derivative and foreign exchange gains in Q3'25 due to Nigerian naira and Tanzanian shilling appreciation, which resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $30m.

 

Financial review for the year ended 31 March 2026

Revenue

Group revenue in reported currency increased by 29.5% to $6,415m, with constant currency growth of 24.0%. Reported currency revenue growth was higher than constant currency growth reflecting currency appreciation across most markets. In Q4'26, constant currency revenue growth of 22.3% was lower than the previous quarter (Q3'26) as we lapped the impact of the Nigeria tariff adjustments implemented during Q4'25. FY'26 constant currency revenue growth was driven by Nigerian revenue growth of 47.5%, East Africa growth of 17.8% and a strong performance in Francophone Africa, which saw revenue growth accelerate to 17.1% in the current financial year compared to 9.5% reported in 2024/25.

Mobile services revenue of $5,350m increased by 27.6% in reported currency and by 22.6% in constant currency. Constant currency growth was led by voice revenue growth of 12.8% and data revenue growth of 35.2%. Mobile money revenues grew by 36.3% in reported currency and by 28.4% in constant currency, driven by strong growth in East Africa and Francophone Africa.

Francophone Africa reported currency revenue growth was 21.5% - higher than constant currency revenue growth of 17.1%, primarily due to CFA appreciation. In East Africa, reported currency revenue grew by 24.0% which is also higher as compared to 17.8% constant currency growth due to appreciation in Zambian kwacha, Ugandan shilling and Tanzanian shilling. In Nigeria, reported currency revenues grew by 52.9%, and by 47.5% in constant currency. In Q4'26, the Nigerian naira appreciated significantly from a weighted average NGN/USD rate of 1,529 in Q4'25 to NGN/USD 1,386, resulting in Nigeria revenues growing by 54.8% in reported currency and by 40.3% in constant currency.

Underlying EBITDA[4]

Reported currency underlying EBITDA grew by 37.2% to $3,162m, while in constant currency underlying EBITDA increased by 30.4%. Reflecting a more favourable operating environment and the continued success of our cost efficiency programme, underlying EBITDA margins have increased by 280 bps in the current period to reach 49.3%. In Q4'26 underlying EBITDA margins expanded further, crossing the 50% mark and reaching 50.3%, an increase of 295 bps.

Mobile services underlying EBITDA increased by 30.8% in constant currency with underlying EBITDA margins of 48.8%, an increase of 327 bps. Mobile money underlying EBITDA margins of 50.8% declined by 196 bps in reported currency, primarily due to the renegotiation of intra-group agreements that were disclosed in our H1'26 results, which had no impact on the consolidated Group's margin. 

Operating profit

Operating profit in reported currency increased by 45.1% to $2,115m, largely driven by underlying EBITDA growth of 37.2% in reported currency.

Finance costs

Total finance costs for the year ended 31 March 2026 were $713m, compared to $822m in the prior period. Prior period finance costs were impacted by $179m of derivative and foreign exchange losses (reflecting the revaluation of US dollar balance sheet liabilities and derivatives following currency devaluations), of which $87m was classified as an exceptional item. For the year ended 31 March 2026, finance costs included $127m of derivative and foreign exchange gains largely on account of naira appreciation. As a result, finance costs, excluding derivative and foreign exchange gains/(losses), increased from $643m in the prior period to $840m in the current period, primarily reflecting the full-year impact of interest on lease liabilities following the tower contract renewals in September 2024 (which had a neutral to positive impact on cashflows).

The Group ended the current financial year with a weighted average interest rate of 10.6%, which has decreased by 240 bps from 13.0% in the prior period.

Exceptional items

Finance cost - exceptional items of $87m in the prior period was related to $231m derivative and foreign exchange losses following the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in H1'25, partially offset by derivative and foreign exchange gains of $144m in Q3'25 on account of Nigerian naira and Tanzanian shilling appreciation. These losses resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $30m. There were no exceptional items in the current period.

 

Profit before tax

Profit before tax was $1,419m for the year ended 31 March 2026 as compared to $661m in the prior period. Higher profit before tax in the current period as compared to the prior period was on account of higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $127m in the current period as compared to $179m derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.

Taxation

Total tax charges were $606m as compared to $333m in the prior period. Total tax charges in the prior period reflected an exceptional gain of $30m, arising from the exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses. Excluding exceptional items, tax charges increased by $243m which was largely driven by the higher profit before tax in the current period and withholding taxes on dividends paid by subsidiaries.

The effective tax rate was 40.1% compared to 41.0% in the previous financial year.

The effective tax rate is higher than the weighted average statutory corporate tax rate of approximately 32%, largely due to the profit mix between various OpCos and withholding taxes on dividends paid by subsidiaries.

Profit after tax

Profit after tax was $813m during the year ended 31 March 2026 as compared to $328m in the prior period.

Earnings per share (EPS)

Basic EPS of 18.6 cents compares to 6.0 cents in the prior period, predominantly reflecting higher operating profits and derivative and foreign exchange gains in the current period compared to derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.

EPS before exceptional items[5] also increased from 8.2 cents in the prior period to 18.6 cents as higher operating profits due to strong revenue growth and margin expansion, as well as derivative and foreign exchange gains due to currency appreciation in the current period, more than offset the impact of higher finance costs arising on account of tower contract renewals, which had a neutral to positive impact on cashflows.

EPS before exceptional items and derivative and foreign exchange gains/(losses) increased from 9.8 cents in the prior period to 16.2 cents in the current period.

Net cash generated from operating activities

Net cash generated from operating activities was $3,195m, which is 41.0% higher compared to $2,266m in the prior period, primarily reflecting strong operating performance with underlying EBITDA growth of 37.2% in reported currency.

Operating free cash flow

Operating free cash flow was $2,278m, up by 39.4%, as a result of higher underlying EBITDA during the current period.

Leverage

Lease-adjusted leverage improved to 0.5x (from 1.0x) and leverage to 1.8x (from 2.3x), primarily driven by the improvement in underlying EBITDA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other significant updates

 

Update on share buyback programme

On 23 December 2024, Airtel Africa plc (or the 'company') announced the commencement of a second share buyback programme that will return up to $100m to shareholders. This programme was phased in two tranches. The company completed the first tranche on 24 April 2025, returning $45m to shareholders following the purchase of 26.3 million ordinary shares. The second tranche ($55m) of the buyback programme was completed on 24 March 2026 following the purchase of a further 18.7 million shares. In aggregate, the company returned $100m to the shareholders as part of second share buyback programme by purchasing 45 million shares.

Conclusion of audit tender process

On 3 December 2025, Airtel Africa plc announced that it has commenced a formal, independent competitive tender process for the role of external auditor, overseen by the Audit and Risk Committee. On 10 March 2026, Airtel Africa plc announced that following the conclusion of the tender process, it intends to appoint Ernst & Young LLP as external auditor for the financial year ending 31 March 2028 onwards. The appointment will be subject to shareholder approval at Airtel Africa's 2027 Annual General Meeting.

Deloitte will continue as the Group's external auditor for the financial years ending 31 March 2026 and 31 March 2027, with the latter appointment subject to shareholder approval.

Directorate changes

On 25 March 2026, Sunil Bharti Mittal has informed the Board of his intention to retire as Chair of the Board at the conclusion of this year's AGM in July 2026. Following his retirement, the Board has announced that Gopal Vittal will be appointed Non‑Executive Chair of the Board with effect from the same date. Mr. Vittal's appointment is by nomination of the controlling shareholder pursuant to the terms of the relationship agreement dated 17 June 2019 between the Company, Bharti Airtel, Airtel Africa Mauritius Limited, the majority shareholder and an indirect subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Bharti Telecom. He was appointed a non-executive director of Airtel Africa in October 2024. Furthermore, Shravin Bharti Mittal will assume the role of Deputy Chair with effect from the same date.

On 25 March 2026, the company announced that as part of the ongoing succession planning in respect of the Company's Non-Executive Directors, Annika Poutiainen will also retire at the conclusion of the July AGM, at which point she will have served for over seven years.

On 11 November 2025, the company announced that Andrew Green had informed the Board of his intention to retire as Senior independent non-executive director following the conclusion of the Q3'26 Board meeting. Upon Andrew's retirement, Tsega Gebreyes, who currently chairs the Remuneration Committee and serves on the Nomination committee, was appointed as Senior independent non-executive director. She will continue to be a member of the Remuneration committee while Cynthia Gordon will succeed Tsega as chair of the Remuneration committee and will join the Nominations committee. Cynthia Gordon was previously serving on the Group's Remuneration Committee following her appointment as an independent non-executive director on 1 April 2025.

Following the conclusion of AGM on 9 July 2025, Jaideep Paul, chief financial officer (CFO) retired from his position as executive director and CFO. Kamal Dua became an executive director and assumed the role of CFO following his appointment at the 2025 AGM.

On 9 July 2025, Akhil Gupta retired as a non-executive director of Airtel Africa plc in accordance with the announcement made on 13 May 2025.

Partnership with SpaceX to launch Starlink Direct-to-Cell connectivity

On 16 December 2025, Airtel Africa plc (or the 'company') announced its partnership with SpaceX to introduce Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellite connectivity across its 14 markets, serving those customers with compatible handsets. This service will enable data for certain apps and text messaging in areas without terrestrial coverage, with future upgrades delivering high-speed connectivity via next-generation satellites. Airtel Africa becomes the first mobile operator in Africa to partner with SpaceX for Direct-to-Cell connectivity, reinforcing its commitment to bridging the digital divide and expanding connectivity across the continent. The rollout will proceed in line with country-specific regulatory approvals.

Furthermore, in May 2025, the company announced a collaboration with SpaceX to bring next generation satellite connectivity offerings and augment connectivity for enterprises, businesses and socio-economic communities like schools and health centres in some of the most rural parts of Africa.

Directorate declaration

The company announced that Sunil Bharti Mittal, chair, and Gopal Vittal, non-executive director of Airtel Africa plc, were appointed as non-independent non-executive directors of BT Group plc with effect from 15 September 2025.

Network infrastructure agreement with Vodacom

In August 2025, the company announced a strategic infrastructure sharing agreement with Vodacom Group in key markets, including Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC) along with access to international bandwidth infrastructure in Mozambique, subject to regulatory approvals in the various countries. The agreement marks a transformative milestone in promoting digital inclusion and expanding access to reliable connectivity across Africa and will initially focus on sharing fibre networks and tower infrastructure to accelerate the rollout of digital services in these markets.

The announcement follows the announcement in March 2025 when Airtel Africa and MTN announced network infrastructure sharing agreements in Uganda and Nigeria.

Update on Airtel Money shareholder put option

On 1 August 2025, the company announced that it and its affiliates have agreed with The Rise Fund, the impact investment platform of TPG and Mastercard, both minority shareholders in Airtel Mobile Commerce B.V. ('Airtel Money), to defer the exercisable date of their put options under their respective agreements by 12 months.

Migration of customers to advanced system verification platform in Nigeria

In May 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) directed Airtel Nigeria and other operators to transfer all verified unique subscriber records in the SIM registration database from the existing NIN token system to a more advanced and secure platform, the High Availability NIMC Verification Service (HA-NVS). The initial cut-off date for transfer was 27 May 2025 which was subsequently extended multiple times to address the critical outstanding issues with respect to the transfer.

Subsequently, the existing NIN token platform was shut down on 26 June 2025 and on 3 July 2025, the NCC released the framework required for HA-NVS integration.

Dividend payment timetable

The board has recommended a final dividend of 4.26 cents for the financial year ended 31 March 2026, payable on 24 July 2026 to shareholders recorded in the register at the close of business on 19 June 2026.

                                                                                                London Stock Exchange                                Nigerian Stock Exchange

Last day to trade shares cum dividend                    17 June 2026                                      17 June 2026

Shares commence trading ex-dividend                  18 June 2026                                      18 June 2026

Record date (NGX settlement date)                        19 June 2026                                      19 June 2026

Last date for currency election                                   6 July 2026                                           6 July 2026

Payment date                                                                   24 July 2026                                        24 July 2026

 

 

 

Information on additional KPIs

An investor relations pack with information on the additional KPIs and balance sheet is available to download on our website at www.airtel.africa

 

 

 

Strategic overview

The Group provides telecom and mobile money services in 14 emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa. Our markets are characterised by a young and rapidly growing population, low smartphone penetration and a large unbanked population. Unique mobile user penetration across the Group's footprint is around 50% and banking penetration remains under 50%. These indicators illustrate the significant opportunity still available to us to enhance both digital and financial inclusion in the communities we serve, enriching and transforming their lives through digitalisation, while at the same time, growing our revenues profitably across each of our key services of voice, data and mobile money.

The Group continues to invest in its network and distribution infrastructure to enhance both mobile connectivity and financial inclusion across our OpCos. We continue to invest in expanding our 4G and 5G network to increase data capacity, deploy new sites, especially in rural areas, thereby enhancing coverage and connectivity.

Our strategy puts our customers at the core of our strategy. We believe that by ensuring great customer experience, we continue to deliver on our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa. Our consumer centric strategy is anchored on our six strategic pillars: strengthening our 'go-to-market', delivering best in class network experience, winning more in key markets, digitising and simplifying processes across the business, accelerating Airtel Money and scaling our home broadband business (HBB) and enterprise offerings.

Underpinning the Group's business strategy is our focus on cost optimisation, our sustainability strategy and the ongoing  investment into our people to build and retain talent. Our sustainability strategy supports our well-established corporate purpose of transforming lives, our continued commitment to driving sustainable development and acting as a responsible business. Our sustainability strategy supports our goals and commitments to foster financial inclusion, bridge the digital divide and serve more customers in some of the least penetrated telecoms markets in the world.  

 

Strengthen 'Go-to-market'

We continue to strengthen our distribution footprint, especially our exclusive channels of kiosks/mini-shops and Airtel Money branches (AMB) along with multi-brand outlets in both urban and rural areas. During the year, the Group added over 660,000 Airtel Money agents and 130,000 activating outlets with emphasis on building a robust distribution network in towns and villages with new coverage investments, enabling continued expansion of our customer base and strong growth in overall revenues.

In addition to building on-ground distribution infrastructure, we also focused on building and leveraging digital tools to simplify the processes and enhance efficiencies for our own sales team members as well as our channel partners.

We continue to accelerate our data revenue growth through a combination of smartphone adoption and improving ARPUs. Our smartphone penetration stands at 49.5%, an increase of 4.7% from last year, driven by our expansion of the 4G/5G network and strong execution. In Q4'26, our data consumption has increased to 9.8 GB per data user, growing 37% year-over-year, driven by improved network experience and customer lifecycle management programmes. We continue to focus on improving our network reach through our new strategic partnership with Starlink where we will provide coverage in existing unconnected rural areas, further stepping up our network experience.

 

Brilliant network experience

The Group remains focused on delivering best-in-class services, enhancing our 4G network availability, along with expanding newly launched 5G technology in key markets, such as Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi. Reaching underserved communities is a key priority and we continue to expand rural coverage through new site rollouts and investing in spectrum and technologies to support increased capacity to facilitate our corporate purpose of transforming lives.

We've rolled out more than 3,250 infrastructure sites during the year and over 3,600 4G sites: 98.5% of our sites are now 4G-enabled and we have more than 3,100 5G operational sites in six markets.

As part of ensuring our services are future ready, in addition to purchasing spectrum, we grew our fibre infrastructure and 5G capabilities while remaining committed to our investment into data centres to further support digital inclusion across our markets. We continued to strengthen our fibre business which is delivering encouraging revenue growth. During the year, we added a further approximately 3,200 km of fibre, with a total of 81,900 km now deployed.

 

 

Must win markets

Winning customers across all our markets through micro-marketing using network and digital tools is fundamental to our strategy and continues to enable us to drive both financial and digital inclusion. We aim to win in every micro-segment by optimising our network to improve customer experience or strengthen our distribution where our network is already strong, so that we can acquire new customers with speed and precision. There are clusters of opportunities which have been identified across all OpCos which have been called out as 'must win markets'. To ensure that we win across all 'must win markets' we stepped up investment on building people capabilities and driving a culture of collaborative working across functions.

In the broader urban areas, including smaller towns and emerging suburban peripheries, some micro-marketing actions include improving indoor coverage, network quality and delivering a seamless customer experience by enhancing our network through principles of community of interest. We are enhancing our in-store experience and increasing our own store footprint, while strengthening 5G coverage in these markets to cater for rising home broadband (HBB) demand. This will allow us to strengthen our position as a reliable network provider, attract new customers and lower churn.

Rural markets present a big growth opportunity to us, given the low penetration of both telecoms and financial services. To tap the opportunity, our focus remain on improving coverage and distribution expansion across all markets. With intensified network investment and focus on distribution excellence, we are confident that rural markets will contribute to a significant portion of our overall customer additions going forward.

 

Digitise and simplify

Digitisation remains a core strategic priority, anchored on expanding digital adoption, simplifying customer journeys, and driving operational efficiency at scale. Over FY'26, we continued to execute against this agenda, strengthening our digital platforms as primary engagement channels for both mobile services and Airtel Money services.

MyAirtel app continues to serve as the cornerstone of our single-app strategy, delivering a unified experience across both the telecom and Airtel Money segments. During FY'26, digitally engaged users grew by 55% year-on-year, while transacting users increased by 74% year-on-year, reflecting strong customer migration to digital self-service and improving frequency of use. Customers are increasingly engaging across multiple use cases within a single journey, with seamless cross-usage between telecoms and Airtel Money services enabling more convenient and integrated experiences.

Digital channels have also continued to scale as a significant transactional platform. TPV on our app grew by 79% year-on-year to reach $8.3 billion in FY'26, compared to $4.6 billion in FY'25, underscoring the growing role of digital channels in driving high-volume, high-frequency customer interactions across the Group.

To further expand reach and engagement, WhatsApp has been launched as an additional digital channel for customer interaction and service delivery. Through our digital platforms, customers are able to perform a wide range of everyday use cases, including peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, international and merchant payments as well as convenient recharges across multiple mobile lines and HBB services, including off-net users. These experiences are further enhanced through multi-language support, including English, Swahili and French, helping us serve our diverse customer base across multiple markets.

Alongside customer-facing growth, we've continued to make progress in simplifying and digitising operations. Automation of key journeys, including HBB self-service and wallet PIN management, has reduced friction and improved service efficiency. Investments in data and analytics are enabling automated lifecycle management, more targeted engagement and continuous optimisation of digital journeys.

Digital has also become a material productivity and efficiency lever. Through integrated marketing, shared platforms and a build-once/deploy-many approach to feature development, we're accelerating time-to-market while reducing duplication across operating companies. These efficiencies support sustainable growth while maintaining disciplined cost management.

Overall, our  progress in FY'26 reflects the continued evolution of Airtel Africa into a digital-first, scalable organisation, with digital channels playing a central role in enhancing customer experience, driving transactional scale and supporting operational excellence across our markets.

 

 

Accelerate Airtel Money

Limited access to formal financial services, constrained banking infrastructure and continued reliance on cash across our markets present a significant opportunity to accelerate financial inclusion. Airtel Money is addressing this through a digital-first, mobile-led platform. Our focus remains on scaling digital adoption, expanding our ecosystem, including merchant payments, and strengthening access across our markets.

·    Digital adoption: Our digital-first strategy continues to drive product innovation and customer engagement. Enhancements to MyAirtel app and a strong focus on self-service have improved customer experience and engagement. In March 2026, Airtel Money's smartphone penetration increased to 51%+ from 48% last year, supporting higher activity and improved unit economics. MyAirtel app adoption continues to scale, with app transacting customers increasing by 74% year-on-year, reflecting strong traction in digital journeys. Customers migrating from feature phones to smartphones consistently deliver materially higher ARPU, reinforcing our transition into a scaled digital financial services platform.

·    Ecosystem expansion: We continue to deepen our ecosystem by scaling key use cases across payments, including digital lending, savings, merchant payments and card-linked solutions, while expanding international money transfer corridors and strengthening strategic partnerships. Adoption across these services remains strong, reflecting clear product/market fit. Merchant payments remain a key growth pillar, enabling businesses to accept digital payments and accelerating the transition from cash. Multi-service users deliver significantly higher ARPU compared to single-service customers, underscoring the value of deeper ecosystem engagement.

·    Access and distribution: Our extensive retail footprint, comprising 49,000 exclusive outlets, continues to enhance market reach and service delivery. Continued investments in distribution, alongside a streamlined digital agent onboarding process, have driven a 39% increase in our non-exclusive agent base, further strengthening last-mile access.

These initiatives contributed to a 21.3% growth in our mobile money customer base, crossing 54 million users, alongside continued strong growth in constant currency revenues. Mobile money remains a key growth engine for the Group, delivering sustained revenue momentum. We remain committed to building Africa's most accessible, inclusive and scalable digital financial services platform, driving meaningful impact and long-term value for our customers and stakeholders.

 

Scale home broadband (HBB) and enterprise

We are unlocking significant growth opportunities by scaling HBB and enterprise services by strengthening our 5G and fibre networks to deliver reliable, resilient connectivity. The demand for this high-speed connectivity and digital services remains strong with the HBB customer base growing by 86%, with an average per customer consumption of 195 GB per month across our footprint. We've invested extensively in ensuring customers have a seamless onboarding to the home broadband service with MyAirtel app, driving an improved customer convenience, particularly in the product use and recharges available across multiple integrated payment channels.

Enterprise services remain a key opportunity. Nxtra by Airtel, the data centre division of Airtel Africa, broke ground in September 2025 on their second hyperscale data centre in Tatu City, Nairobi, Kenya, as part of our B2B strategy to boost data centre capacity across Africa. Anticipated to go live in Q1 2027, this is expected to be the biggest data centre in East Africa at 44 MW capacity and will have high density and high capacity ready in anticipation of hosting the new generation of servers. This construction follows the commencement of construction of a 38-megawatt data centre in Lagos, Nigeria.

 

 

 

Financial review for the year ended 31 March 2026

Nigeria - mobile services

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of Operations
Revenue	$m	1,598	1,045	52.8%	47.4%	475	307	54.7%	40.2%
Voice revenue 1	$m	614	448	36.9%	32.2%	182	133	36.5%	23.7%
Data revenue	$m	820	483	69.8%	63.6%	244	139	75.5%	59.1%
Other revenue2	$m	164	114	44.2%	38.8%	49	35	41.2%	27.8%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	924	522	76.8%	70.3%	284	162	75.1%	58.7%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	57.8%	50.0%	785 bps	776 bps	59.7%	52.8%	695 bps	696 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(306)	(217)	41.1%	36.1%	(89)	(67)	32.2%	19.7%
Operating profit	$m	543	304	78.5%	70.8%	184	85	115.7%	94.6%
Capex	$m	249	168	48.6%	48.6%	83	64	29.0%	29.0%
Operating free cash flow	$m	675	354	90.3%	80.7%	201	98	105.5%	78.6%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	58.3	53.3	9.4%		58.3	53.3	9.4%
Data customer base	million	31.4	29.1	8.1%		31.4	29.1	8.1%
Mobile services ARPU	$	2.4	1.7	41.6%	36.7%	2.8	1.9	42.9%	29.6%

⁽¹⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the year ended 31 March 2026. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $613m in year ended 31 March 2026.

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $2m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $162m in year ended 31 March 2026 and $112m in the prior period.

 

Revenue grew by 47.4% in constant currency, largely driven by continued strength in the demand for data services and supported by tariff adjustments. The constant currency revenue growth was driven by ARPU growth of 36.7% and customer base growth of 9.4%. In Q4'26, constant currency growth slowed compared to Q3'26 as we lapped the impact of tariff adjustments which were implemented in Q4'25.

In reported currency, revenue grew by 52.8% to $1,598m with Q4'26 revenue growth at 54.7% (40.2% in constant currency). Higher reported currency growth during Q4'26 compared to constant currency growth was due to the appreciation in the Nigerian naira from a weighted average NGN/USD rate of 1,529 in Q4'25 to NGN/USD 1,386 in Q4'26.

Voice revenue grew by 32.2% in constant currency, driven by voice ARPU growth of 22.5% primarily reflecting the tariff adjustments made during Q4'25.

Data revenue grew by 63.6% in constant currency as a function of both data customer and data ARPU growth of 8.1% and 49.2% respectively. Data usage per customer increased by 30.8% to 11.0 GB per month (from 8.4 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing by 5.3% to reach 54.9%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 13.7 GB per month compared to 11.1 GB per month in the prior period.

Underlying EBITDA of $924m improved by 76.8% in reported currency and by 70.3% in constant currency. The underlying EBITDA margin increased 785 basis points to 57.8%, with Q4'26 margins reaching 59.7%, driven by strong revenue growth and continued benefits arising from our cost efficiency programme, supported by stable fuel prices.

Operating free cash flow was $675m, up by 80.7% in constant currency and 90.3% in reported currency. This was driven primarily by the strong underlying EBITDA growth, partially offset by higher capex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Africa - mobile services ¹

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue	$m	2,192	1,843	18.9%	13.8%	577	477	20.9%	12.4%
Voice revenue2	$m	1,069	906	18.0%	12.5%	274	232	18.2%	8.8%
Data revenue	$m	930	755	23.1%	18.0%	253	200	26.5%	18.0%
Other revenue3	$m	193	182	6.2%	3.3%	50	45	10.4%	5.8%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	1,063	877	21.3%	14.9%	277	227	22.1%	11.2%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	48.5%	47.6%	93 bps	42 bps	48.0%	47.5%	46 bps	(49) bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(427)	(349)	22.7%	19.0%	(118)	(95)	24.1%	18.3%
Operating profit	$m	576	472	22.1%	12.9%	142	118	20.3%	4.0%
Capex	$m	331	292	13.3%	13.3%	98	74	33.7%	33.7%
Operating free cash flow	$m	732	585	25.1%	15.6%	179	153	16.7%	0.3%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	84.3	77.6	8.7%		84.3	77.6	8.7%
Data customer base	million	36.5	31.5	15.7%		36.5	31.5	15.7%
Mobile services ARPU	$	2.2	2.1	8.1%	3.5%	2.3	2.1	10.9%	3.1%

⁽¹⁾  The East Africa business region consists of Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $2m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $1,067m in year ended 31 March 2026 and $904m in the prior period.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $18m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $13m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $175m in year ended 31 March 2026 and $169m in the prior period.

 

East Africa revenue grew by 18.9% in reported currency to $2,192m and by 13.8% in constant currency. Higher reported currency revenue growth as compared to constant currency was primarily due to appreciation in the Zambian kwacha, Ugandan shilling and Tanzanian shilling. The constant currency growth was made up of voice revenue growth of 12.5% and data revenue growth of 18.0%.

Voice revenue growth was supported by customer base growth of 8.7% and voice ARPU growth of 2.2%. Customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both network coverage and our distribution network.

Data customer base growth of 15.7% and data traffic growth of 50.3% were the primary drivers of data revenue growth. We continue to invest in our network and expand our 4G and 5G network services in the region. Over 2,200 sites are 5G enabled across five key markets, following the rollout in Malawi in Q4'26. Data usage per customer increased to 8.0 GB per customer per month, up by 28.0%, with smartphone penetration increasing by 4.3% to reach 46.6%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 9.8 GB per month compared to 7.8 GB per month in the prior period.

Underlying EBITDA increased to $1,063m, up by 21.3% in reported currency and by 14.9% in constant currency. Underlying EBITDA margins of 48.5% compared to 47.6% in the prior period, up by 93 bps.

Operating free cash flow was $732m, up by 15.6% in constant currency, largely due to underlying EBITDA growth, although partially offset by higher capex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francophone Africa - mobile services ¹

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of Operations
Revenue	$m	1,550	1,300	19.2%	14.8%	400	332	20.4%	14.3%
Voice revenue 2	$m	639	614	4.0%	(0.8%)	158	144	9.5%	2.3%
Data revenue	$m	780	566	37.9%	33.8%	208	159	30.7%	25.3%
Other revenue 3	$m	131	120	8.6%	5.7%	34	29	18.2%	13.4%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	618	505	22.4%	18.1%	162	132	22.4%	16.6%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	39.9%	38.8%	105 bps	111 bps	40.5%	39.8%	65 bps	82 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(261)	(231)	12.9%	8.2%	(71)	(59)	20.1%	13.1%
Operating profit	$m	304	219	38.8%	33.7%	78	59	31.2%	25.3%
Capex	$m	225	159	40.9%	40.9%	71	55	29.8%	29.8%
Operating free cash flow	$m	393	346	13.9%	7.7%	91	77	17.1%	7.5%
Operating KPIs
Total customer base	million	40.9	35.2	16.3%		40.9	35.2	16.3%
Data customer base	million	16.4	12.8	27.6%		16.4	12.8	27.6%
Mobile services ARPU	$	3.4	3.2	5.7%	1.8%	3.3	3.2	4.8%	(0.5%)

 ⁽¹⁾ The Francophone Africa business region consists of Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Republic of the Congo and the Seychelles.

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $2m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $638m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $612m in the prior period.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $9m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $3m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $122m in year ended 31 March 2026 and $117m in the prior period.

 

Revenue grew by 19.2% in reported currency and by 14.8% in constant currency. Higher reported currency revenue growth compared to constant currency was due to an appreciation in the CFA. This year's growth of 14.8% in constant currency demonstrates significant improvement from 7.9% in the prior year. This follows a recovery in market trends and the benefits of sustained network investment and intensive focus on 'go-to-market' initiatives.  

Voice revenue declined by 0.8% in constant currency as customer base growth of 16.3% was more than offset by a decline in voice ARPU reflecting interconnect rate reductions.

Data revenue grew by 33.8% in constant currency, supported by data customer base growth of 27.6%. Our continued 4G network rollout supported an increase in total data traffic of 62.2%, with data usage per customer growing by 25.3%. Furthermore, 93.6% of sites are now on 4G as compared to 87.7% in the prior period. Data usage per customer increased to 6.8 GB per month (up from 5.4 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing by 4.6% to reach 47.7% as of 31 March 2026. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 8.1 GB per month compared to 6.5 GB per month in the prior period.

Underlying EBITDA of $618m increased by 22.4% and 18.1% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The underlying EBITDA margin improved to 39.9%, an increase of 105 basis points, driven by continued strong revenue growth.

Operating free cash flow of $393m increased by 7.7% in constant currency, due to the increase in underlying EBITDA, partially offset by higher capex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile services

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue1	$m	5,350	4,193	27.6%	22.6%	1,456	1,117	30.3%	20.8%
Voice revenue	$m	2,318	1,964	18.0%	12.8%	613	508	20.6%	10.9%
Data revenue	$m	2,530	1,804	40.3%	35.2%	705	498	41.5%	31.8%
Other revenue	$m	502	425	18.1%	14.7%	138	111	25.0%	17.6%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	2,612	1,910	36.7%	30.8%	729	517	40.9%	29.4%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	48.8%	45.6%	327 bps	305 bps	50.0%	46.3%	375 bps	329 bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(1,004)	(797)	26.1%	21.7%	(279)	(221)	26.2%	18.1%
Operating profit	$m	1,420	1,001	41.8%	34.1%	408	259	57.9%	42.0%
Capex	$m	810	619	30.9%	30.9%	256	193	32.5%	32.5%
Operating free cash flow	$m	1,802	1,291	39.5%	30.8%	473	324	45.9%	27.6%
Operating KPIs
Customer KPIs:
Total customer base	million	183.5	166.1	10.5%		183.5	166.1	10.5%
Data customer base	million	84.2	73.4	14.8%		84.2	73.4	14.8%
ARPU KPIs:
Voice ARPU	$	1.1	1.0	7.3%	2.6%	1.1	1.0	9.6%	0.8%
Data ARPU	$	2.7	2.2	20.6%	16.2%	2.8	2.3	23.8%	15.3%

⁽¹⁾                    Mobile service revenue after inter-segment eliminations was $5,328m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $4,185m in the prior period.

 

Overall revenue from mobile services increased by 27.6% in reported currency and by 22.6% in constant currency, with growth evident across all regions and services.  

Voice revenue grew by 12.8% in constant currency, supported primarily by growth in the customer base of 10.5% as we continued to invest in our network and distribution infrastructure. Voice ARPU grew by 2.6%. Total minutes on the network grew by 5.3% while voice usage per customer was 287 minutes.

Data revenue grew by 35.2% in constant currency, driven by both data customer base growth of 14.8% and data ARPU growth of 16.2%. The customer base growth was recorded across all regions and data traffic across our network continued to see strong growth of 48.5%. Data usage per customer increased to 8.9 GB per customer per month (from 7.0 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 4.7% to reach 49.5%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 10.9 GB per month compared to 8.8 GB per month in the prior period. As of 31 March 2026, 5G is operational across six markets following the rollout in Malawi in Q4'26, with 3,116 sites deployed across our network. Data revenue contributed to 47.3% of total mobile services revenue, up from 43.0% in the prior period.

Underlying EBITDA was $2,612m, up 36.7% in reported currency and 30.8% in constant currency. The underlying EBITDA margin improved by 327 basis points year-on-year to 48.8%, following our strong revenue performance, a more stable operating environment and continued benefits from our ongoing cost efficiency programme.

Operating free cash flow was $1,802m, up by 30.8% in constant currency, due to the increased constant currency underlying EBITDA partially offset by higher capex during the period.

 

 

 

 

 

Mobile money

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Summarised statement of operations
Revenue1	$m	1,355	994	36.3%	28.4%	369	263	40.2%	25.7%
Wallet services2	$m	648	475	36.5%	28.9%	174	122	42.3%	27.8%
Payment and transfers2	$m	573	421	36.3%	28.3%	159	113	40.8%	26.9%
Financial services2	$m	61	35	73.0%	61.1%	17	11	59.2%	39.0%
Others2	$m	73	63	15.5%	7.3%	19	17	9.2%	(5.5%)
Underlying EBITDA	$m	689	525	31.3%	22.9%	184	137	34.2%	18.0%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	50.8%	52.8%	(196) bps	(227) bps	49.9%	52.1%	(222) bps	(318) bps
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(29)	(23)	27.7%	25.1%	(8)	(6)	27.5%	18.0%
Operating profit	$m	645	489	32.1%	23.2%	174	128	35.9%	18.9%
Capex	$m	45	32	41.4%	41.4%	16	17	(9.1%)	(9.1%)
Operating free cash flow	$m	644	493	30.7%	21.7%	168	120	40.3%	21.9%
Operating KPIs
Mobile money customer base	million	54.1	44.6	21.3%		54.1	44.6	21.3%
Total processed value (TPV)	$bn	195.9	136.5	43.5%	35.2%	54.0	36.3	49.0%	34.3%
Mobile money ARPU	$	2.3	2.0	15.3%	8.6%	2.3	2.0	17.7%	5.6%

⁽¹⁾  Mobile money service revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services were $1,087m in the year ended 31 March 2026 and $770m in the prior year.

⁽²⁾  Wallet services comprise cash-in (deposits)/cash-out (withdrawals). Payment and transfers comprise P2P money transfers, airtime and bundle recharges, utility bill payments, merchant payments, cash collection, corporate bulk payments and international money transfers. Financial services primarily include bank-to-wallet transfers, wallet-to-bank transfers, lending, insurance, wealth management and savings. Others comprises retention revenues. For a full description refer to glossary on page 60.  

 

Mobile money revenue grew by 36.3% in reported currency, with constant currency revenues growing by 28.4%. During the period, East Africa revenue grew 26.1% and Francophone Africa revenue grew by 34.3% in constant currency. In Q4'26, Francophone Africa revenues grew by 38.9% in constant currency as we focused on key opportunities across the region. The expansion of our distribution network underpinned our 21.3% customer base growth, while ARPU growth of 8.6% in constant currency reflects the increased range of services on offer as we continue to expand the ecosystem.

A 14.4% increase in total processed value (TPV) per customer to $332 per customer per month reflects both the enhanced ecosystem and increased user engagement. Q4'26 annualised TPV exceeded $215bn in reported currency, with mobile money revenue contributing 21.1%[6] of total Group revenue during the year ended 31 March 2026.

Regional split:

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	1,355	994	36.3%	28.4%	369	263	40.2%	25.7%
Nigeria	$m	9	4	113.4%	102.9%	3	2	94.7%	76.4%
East Africa	$m	1,009	747	35.1%	26.1%	273	197	38.5%	21.0%
Francophone Africa	$m	337	243	38.6%	34.3%	93	64	44.9%	38.9%
Mobile money customers	million	54.1	44.6	21.3%		54.1	44.6	21.3%
Nigeria	million	2.7	1.7	60.7%		2.7	1.7	60.7%
East Africa	million	40.9	35.3	15.8%		40.9	35.3	15.8%
Francophone Africa	million	10.5	7.6	38.0%		10.5	7.6	38.0%

 

Mobile money underlying EBITDA was $689m, up by 31.3% and 22.9% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The underlying EBITDA margin of 50.8%, declined by 227 basis points in constant currency and 196 basis points in reported currency, primarily reflects the renegotiation of intra-group agreements as previously disclosed in our H1'26 results.

The impact arising from intra-group agreement revisions will occur in phases. Adjusting for the impact of the revised intra‑group agreements, mobile money constant currency revenue growth would have been 31.6%, with underlying EBITDA margins of 53.1% in the year ended 31 March 2026. As these are intra-group arrangements, they will have no impact on the consolidated revenue, underlying EBITDA or growth outlook for the Group.

Operating free cash flow was $644m, up by 21.7% in constant currency, due to the increased underlying EBITDA, partially offset by higher capex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regional performance

Nigeria

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	1,603	1,048	52.9%	47.5%	477	308	54.8%	40.3%
Voice revenue	$m	614	448	36.9%	32.2%	182	133	36.5%	23.7%
Data revenue	$m	820	483	69.8%	63.6%	244	139	75.5%	59.1%
Mobile money revenue	$m	9	4	113.4%	102.9%	3	2	94.7%	76.4%
Other revenue	$m	164	114	44.3%	38.9%	49	35	41.2%	27.7%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	922	521	77.0%	70.5%	283	162	74.4%	58.1%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	57.5%	49.7%	782 bps	774 bps	59.3%	52.6%	667 bps	668 bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	2.4	1.7	41.8%	36.8%	2.8	1.9	43.0%	29.6%

East Africa

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	3,015	2,432	24.0%	17.8%	801	632	26.7%	15.8%
Voice revenue	$m	1,069	906	18.0%	12.5%	274	232	18.2%	8.8%
Data revenue	$m	930	755	23.1%	18.0%	253	200	26.5%	18.0%
Mobile money revenue	$m	1,009	747	35.1%	26.1%	273	197	38.5%	21.0%
Other revenue	$m	180	176	2.2%	(0.2%)	46	44	4.6%	0.7%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	1,602	1,284	24.8%	17.3%	424	333	27.4%	13.7%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	53.1%	52.8%	34 bps	(23) bps	52.9%	52.7%	26 bps	(97) bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	3.1	2.7	12.7%	7.1%	3.2	2.7	16.2%	6.2%

Francophone Africa

Description	Unit of measure	Year ended				Quarter ended
		Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change	Mar-26	Mar-25	Reported currency change	Constant currency change
Revenue	$m	1,786	1,469	21.5%	17.1%	465	376	23.8%	17.7%
Voice revenue	$m	639	614	4.0%	(0.8%)	158	144	9.5%	2.3%
Data revenue	$m	780	566	37.9%	33.8%	208	159	30.7%	25.3%
Mobile money revenue	$m	337	243	38.6%	34.3%	93	64	44.9%	38.9%
Other revenue	$m	123	119	3.6%	0.8%	31	28	9.5%	5.0%
Underlying EBITDA	$m	786	637	23.5%	19.4%	204	167	22.0%	16.5%
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	44.0%	43.3%	70 bps	82 bps	43.7%	44.4%	(66) bps	(43) bps
Operating KPIs
ARPU	$	3.9	3.6	7.8%	3.9%	3.9	3.6	7.8%	2.4%

Consolidated performance

Description	UoM	Year ended - March 2026					Year ended - March 2025
		Mobile services	Mobile money	Unallocated1	Eliminations	Total	Mobile services	Mobile money	Unallocated1	Eliminations	Total
Revenue	$m	5,350	1,355	-	(290)	6,415	4,193	994	-	(232)	4,955
Voice revenue	$m	2,318		-	-	2,318	1,964		-	-	1,964
Data revenue	$m	2,530		-	-	2,530	1,804		-	-	1,804
Other revenue	$m	502		-	(22)	480	425		-	(8)	417
Underlying EBITDA	$m	2,612	689	(139)	-	3,162	1,910	525	(131)	-	2,304
Underlying EBITDA margin	%	48.8%	50.8%			49.3%	45.6%	52.8%			46.5%
Depreciation and amortisation	$m	(1,004)	(29)	(14)	-	(1,047)	(797)	(23)	(11)	-	(831)
Operating exceptional items	$m	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	(16)	-	(16)
Operating profit	$m	1,420	645	50	-	2,115	1,001	489	(33)	-	1,457

⁽¹⁾  Unallocated in the above table represents 'Headquarter costs'.

 

Risk factors

The risk factors summarised below relate to the Group's business and industry in which it operates. Additional risks and uncertainties relating to the Group that are currently unknown to the Group, or those the Group currently deems immaterial, may, individually or cumulatively, also have a material adverse impact on the Group's business, results of operations and financial position. The Group's principal and emerging risks and risk management process are described in our Annual Report and Accounts.

Summary of principal risks

The Group continually monitors its external and internal environment to identify risks which have the ability to impact its operations, financial performance or the achievement of its objectives.

1.    We operate in a competitive environment with the potential for aggressive competition by existing players, or the entry of new players, which could both put a downward pressure on prices, adversely affecting our revenue and profitability.

2.    Failure to innovate through simplifying the customer experience, developing adequate digital touchpoints in line with changing customer needs and competitive landscape could lead to loss of customers and market share.

3.    Global geopolitical tensions and changes in macroeconomic conditions have the potential to impact our business both directly and indirectly. These impacts include potential increases in the cost of our inputs and negative effects on the disposable incomes of our customers, which could, in turn, affect sales and profitability.

4.    Cybersecurity threats through internal or external sabotage or system vulnerabilities could potentially result in customer data breaches and/or service downtimes.  This risk is increasing as AI-enabled attacks such as automated phishing, bot-driven threats, and other AI-augmented intrusions grow more sophisticated and harder to defend against.

5.    Supply chain disruptions, whether affecting the Group directly or its key suppliers and partners, have the potential to materially impact our ability to deliver products and services, increase operating costs and negatively affect profitability. Risks arising from disruptions across global supply chains whether driven by geopolitical instability, trade restrictions, natural disasters, or logistical constraints can cascade through our supply chain and affect our operational continuity.

6.    Shortages of skilled telecommunications professionals in some markets and the inability to identify and develop successors for key leadership positions could both lead to disruptions in the execution of our corporate strategy.

7.    The resilience of our financial services platform is fundamental to achieving our strategic objectives and advancing financial inclusion across our operating footprint. With the increasing scale of our financial services business and the level of integration with third-party products, services and platforms, disruptions to platform availability whether caused by technical failures, cybersecurity incidents, third-party system outages, or infrastructure constraints can result in service interruptions that undermine customer trust, impact transaction processing, and expose the Group to reputational and regulatory risk.

8.    Our ability to provide quality of service to our customers and meet quality of service (QoS) requirements depends on the robustness and resilience of our technology stack and ecosystem encompassing hardware, software, products, services, applications and our ability to respond appropriately to any disruptions. However, telecommunications networks are subject to the risks of technical failures, aging infrastructure, human error, wilful acts of destruction or natural disasters.

9.    We operate across diverse and dynamic legal, tax and regulatory environments. Adverse changes in the political, macroeconomic and policy environment could negatively impact our ability to achieve our objectives. While the Group makes every effort to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations across all operating jurisdictions in line with its risk appetite, it remains continually exposed to an uncertain and evolving legal, regulatory and policy environment in a number of its markets.

10.  Our multinational footprint means we are constantly exposed to the risk of adverse currency fluctuations and the macroeconomic conditions in the markets where we operate. We derive revenue and incur costs in local currencies where we operate, but we also incur costs in foreign currencies, mainly from buying equipment and services from manufacturers and technology service providers. That means adverse movements in exchange rates between the currencies in our OpCos and the US dollar could have a negative effect on our liquidity and financial condition. In some markets, we face instances of limited supply of foreign currency within the local monetary system. This not only constrains our ability to fully benefit at Group level from strong cash generation by those OpCos but also impacts our ability to make timely foreign currency payments to our international suppliers.

Given the severity of this risk, specifically in some of our OpCos, the Group management continuously monitors the potential impact of this risk of exchange rate fluctuations by comparing the average devaluation of each currency in the markets in which the Group operates against US dollar on a ten-year historic basis and onshore forward exchange rates over a one-year period, if available.

With respect to currency sensitivity going forward, over a 12-month period and assuming the movement occurs at the beginning of the period, a further 1% movement of the USD against all OpCos currencies would result in an estimated impact of $60m-$62m on revenues, $29m-$31m on underlying EBITDA and $27m-$29m on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives). Our largest exposure is to the Nigerian naira, where a similar 1% USD movement would result in an estimated $14m-$15m impact on foreign exchange (excluding derivatives).

This does not represent any guidance and is being used solely to illustrate the potential impact of further currency movements on the Group for the purpose of exchange rate risk management and assumes all other variables remain constant. The accounting under IFRS is based on exchange rates in line with the requirements of IAS 21 'The Effect of Changes in Foreign Exchange' and does not factor in the devaluation mentioned above.

Based on above-mentioned specific methodology for the identified OpCos, management evaluates specific mitigation actions based on available mechanisms in each of the geographies. For further details on such mitigation action, refer to the risk section of the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 which can be downloaded from our website www.airtel.africa

 

 

 

 

Forward looking statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and markets in which the Group operates.

These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe," "anticipate," "could," "may," "would," "should," "intend," "plan," "potential," "predict," "will," "expect," "estimate," "project," "positioned," "strategy," "outlook", "target" and similar expressions.

It is believed that the expectations reflected in this document are reasonable, but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.

All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual future financial condition, performance and results to differ materially from the plans, goals, expectations and results expressed in the forward-looking statements and other financial and/or statistical data within this communication.

Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to the following: the impact of competition from illicit trade; the impact of adverse domestic or international legislation and regulation; changes in domestic or international tax laws and rates; adverse litigation and dispute outcomes and the effect of such outcomes on Airtel Africa's financial condition; changes or differences in domestic or international economic or political conditions; the ability to obtain price increases and the impact of price increases on consumer affordability thresholds; adverse decisions by domestic or international regulatory bodies; the impact of market size reduction and consumer down-trading; translational and transactional foreign exchange rate exposure; the impact of serious injury, illness or death in the workplace; the ability to maintain credit ratings; the ability to develop, produce or market new alternative products and to do so profitably; the ability to effectively implement strategic initiatives and actions taken to increase sales growth; the ability to enhance cash generation and pay dividends and changes in the market position, businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of Airtel Africa.

Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements contained in this document reflect the knowledge and information available to Airtel Africa at the date of preparation of this document and Airtel Africa undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

No statement in this communication is intended to be, nor should be construed as, a profit forecast or a profit estimate and no statement in this communication should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of Airtel Africa plc for the current or any future financial periods would necessarily match, exceed or be lower than the historical published earnings per share of Airtel Africa plc.

Financial data included in this document are presented in US dollars rounded to the nearest million. Therefore, discrepancies in the tables between totals and the sums of the amounts listed may occur due to such rounding. The percentages included in the tables throughout the document are based on numbers calculated to the nearest $1,000 and therefore minor rounding differences may result in the tables. Growth metrics are provided on a constant currency basis unless otherwise stated. The Group has presented certain financial information on a constant currency basis. This is calculated by translating the results for the current financial year and prior financial year at a fixed 'constant currency' exchange rate, which is done to measure the organic performance of the Group. Growth rates for our reporting regions and service segments are provided in constant currency as this better represents the performance of the business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Airtel Africa plc

Results for the year ended 31 March 2026

Consolidated Financial Statements

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

 

	Notes	For the year ended
		31 March 2026	31 March 2025
		$m	$m
Income
Revenue	5	6,415	4,955
Other income		27	22
		6,442	4,977
Expenses
Network operating expenses		1,183	974
Access charges		261	236
Licence fee and spectrum usage charges		293	263
Employee benefit expenses		360	302
Sales and marketing expenses		852	650
Impairment loss on financial assets		11	7
Other operating expenses		320	257
Depreciation and amortisation		1,047	831
		4,327	3520
Operating profit		2,115	1,457
Finance costs
- Derivative and net foreign exchange (gains)/losses
Nigerian naira		(149)	118
Other currencies		22	61
- Other finance costs		867	663
Finance income		(27)	(20)
Net monetary gain relating to hyperinflationary accounting	6	(17)	(26)
Share of profit of associate and joint venture accounted for using equity method		(0)	(0)
Profit before tax		1,419	661
Income tax expense	8	606	333
Profit for the year		813	328
Profit before tax (as presented above)		1,419	661
Add: Exceptional items	7	-	103
Underlying profit before tax		1,419	764
Profit after tax (as presented above)		813	328
Add: Exceptional items	7	-	73
Underlying profit after tax		813	401

 

	Notes	For the year ended
		31 March 2026		31 March 2025
		$m		$m
Profit for the year (continued from previous page)		813		328
Other comprehensive income ('OCI')
Items to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Gain due to foreign currency translation differences		252		219
Gain on debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income		-		0
Share of OCI of associate and joint venture accounted for using equity method		0		0
(Loss)/gain on cash flow hedges		(0)		0
Cash flow hedges reclassified to profit or loss		(0)		(0)
Tax on above		0		1
		252		220
Items not to be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss:
Re-measurement gain on defined benefit plans		0		1
Tax on above		(0)		(0)
		0		1
Other comprehensive income for the year		252		221
Total comprehensive income for the year		1,065		549
Profit for the year attributable to:		813		328
Owners of the company		679		220
Non-controlling interests		134		108
Other comprehensive income for the year attributable to:		252		221
Owners of the company		237		179
Non-controlling interests		15		42
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to:		1,065		549
Owners of the company		916		399
Non-controlling interests		149		150
Earnings per share		cents		cents
Basic	9	18.6		6.0
Diluted	9	18.6		6.0