Airtel Africa Reports 10.2% Revenue Growth

• Airtel Africa Reports 10.2% Revenue Growth

Despite the high debt and recent challenges, Airtel Africa recorded a 10.2 percent increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2019.

The newly listed company said the growth was largely driven by double-digit growth recorded in Nigeria and East Africa.

According to the telecom giant, revenue grew by 22.2 percent in Nigeria due to a more stable foreign exchange environment.

While voice revenue rose by 12.7 percent during the same quarter. This, the company attributed to the rising number of new mobile subscribers.

It also stated that data revenue was up 73.1 percent and contributed the most to the company’s revenue growth.

Data growth was as a result of a 21 percent increase in the company’s customer base and growth in Average Revenue Per User.

The company’s capital expenditure increased to $53.2 million in the first quarter as the company increased its 4G network and investment in Africa.

Raghunath Mandava, the Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, said, “I am pleased to report a strong start to the financial year, in our first quarterly results since the Initial Public Offer. These results, which are in line with our expectations, are clear evidence of the effectiveness of our strategy across voice, data and mobile money. In the quarter, we delivered a 10 per cent increase in revenue in constant currency terms, with even higher underlying EBITDA growth largely as a result of operating leverage and a tight focus on costs which led to underlying EBITDA margin expansion of 101bps.

“We continued to invest in our 4G network, adding nearly 1,500 sites; now more than half of our sites are 4G. We also continue to prepare for the launch of our Mobile Money business in Nigeria, securing approval of the brand name, an important step as we await approval for our payment service bank license.

“The business continues to show momentum and we are confident of delivering sustained growth across voice, data and mobile money, underpinning our medium-term aspirations for revenue and profit growth.”