Airtel Africa posts $79 million in profit after tax

• Airtel Money Business Drives Performance.

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and Airtel money services in 14 countries in Africa, has announced a robust growth in profitability driven by the Group’s refined strategy which is focused on delivering better experiences for customers across the continent.

Steady revenue growth in the East African region leveraged a robust increase in Airtel money usage and expanded digital infrastructure in the results for half-year ended 30th September 2024. The region comprising, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia.

The company reported profits of $79m which is an increase from $13m profit recorded in September 2023. The report also highlights a revenue growth in East Africa, supported by a 13.4% increase in mobile money revenue of $466m in September 2024 from $416m in September 2023. Airtel Money continues to drive financial inclusion by offering reliable and accessible digital transactions, making it a central part of Airtel’s profitability strategy.

During this review period, Airtel continued to strengthen the exclusive distribution network of Airtel Money branches and kiosks, ensuring service availability even in rural areas. The number of kiosks and mini shops grew by 9.1% while Airtel Money branches saw an increase of over 6.7%. In addition, the non-exclusive mobile money agent network expanded by 40%, driven by the successful implementation of the digital onboarding process.

These distribution efforts, combined with enhanced product offerings, led to a growth in the mobile money customer base, which now serves 41.5 million customers as compared to 36.5 million customers in 2023. Mobile money has become an increasingly vital component of the business, with an annual transaction value of $128 billion in reported currency. During the period, mobile money revenue contributed 19.6% to the Group's overall revenues.

Commenting on the trading update, Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa attributes this steady growth to the company’s refined strategy. He said, “The sustained operating momentum over the period is testament to our teams’ ability to execute our strategy brilliantly.

During the period we refined our strategy to significantly increase our focus on delivering best in class experience to our customers.”

“To meet our customer’s expectations, we will strengthen our ‘go-to-market’ through enhanced distribution, simplified customer journeys and best in class network experience. This will further unlock the significant opportunity Africa offers and will provide the foundation of strong growth across our markets and our business segments, especially as we build and scale up the B2B and home broadband segments,” Taldar added.