After enduring a challenging 2023, where currency devaluation in key markets led to mounting losses, Airtel Africa has rebounded in the first quarter of 2024. The telecom giant, operating in 14 African countries, reported a profit after tax of $31 million, a significant turnaround from the $151 million loss recorded in Q1 2023.
However, the company continues to face macroeconomic headwinds. Airtel Africa’s revenue saw a decline of 16.1%, amounting to $1.15 billion, largely due to currency devaluation and rising fuel costs in Nigeria. In response, the telecom firm plans to implement cost reduction and energy-saving initiatives to mitigate network costs.
Key financial highlights for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, include a revenue of $1.15 billion and a profit of $31 million, reflecting a 120% increase. The company also reported a 14.9% growth in its mobile money customer base, reaching 39.5 million users.
Airtel Africa’s robust performance was driven by increased revenues from data and mobile money services, leading to a higher Average Revenue per User (ARPU). The number of data customers rose by 13.4% to 64.4 million, while mobile money users in East, Central, and West Africa surged to 39 million.
Data revenue climbed to $409 million, and voice revenue reached $476 million. Mobile money revenue experienced substantial growth, reaching $22 million, with East Africa and Francophone Africa showing strong performances of 31.7% and 18.4%, respectively.
The telecom company’s overall customer base expanded to 155.4 million, bolstered by continued investments in data infrastructure, including the installation of over 5,600 km of fibre cables. Despite this growth, Airtel Africa’s share price fell by 10% in pre-market trading, ahead of its Q1 earnings call on Thursday.
New CEO Sunil Taldar, who took over from Olusegun Ogunsanya in June 2024, emphasized the company’s focus on exploring new growth opportunities. “A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business, especially in the enterprise, fibre, and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa,” Taldar stated.
In March 2024, Airtel Africa commenced work on a data center, which is expected to be operational by Q1 2026, signaling the company’s ongoing commitment to expanding its digital infrastructure.