Airtel Africa plc

Results for half year ended 30 September 2024

25 October 2024

Sustained operating momentum reflecting continued execution against significant growth opportunity

Operating highlights

·    Total customer base grew by 6.1% to 156.6 million. Data customer penetration continues to rise, driving a 10.4% increase in data customers to 66.0 million. Data usage per customer increased by 30.9% to 6.6 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing 5.3% to reach 42.9%. 

·    Mobile money subscribers of 41.5 million, increased by 13.4% reflecting our continued investment into distribution to support increased financial inclusion across our markets. Transaction value increased by 30.1% in constant currency² with annualised transaction value of $128bn.

·    Data ARPU growth of 13.5% and mobile money ARPU growth of 10.9% in constant currency continued to support overall ARPU's which rose 11.1% YoY in constant currency.

·    Customer experience remains core to our strategy with sustained network investment during the period. Data capacity across our network has increased by 20% with the rollout of over 2,800 sites and around 3,500 kms of fibre.

Financial performance

·    Revenue in constant currency grew by 19.9% in H1'25 with growth accelerating to 20.8% in Q2'25 driven by an acceleration of growth in Nigeria to 38.2% and in Francophone Africa to 9.0%. Across the Group mobile services revenue grew by 18.4% and Mobile Money revenue grew by 28.8% in constant currency. Reported currency revenues declined by 9.7% to $2,370m reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.

·    A substantial increase in fuel prices across our markets and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the Group after the naira devaluation contributed to a decline in EBITDA margins to 45.8% from 49.6% in H1'24. In Q2'25, EBITDA margin at 46.4% improved sequentially from 45.3% in Q1'25 reflecting the initial successes in our cost efficiency programme launched earlier in the year. Constant currency EBITDA increased 13.5% whilst reported currency EBITDA declined by 16.5% to $1,087m for H1'25.

·    Profit after tax of $79m was impacted by $151m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax), arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the period.

·    EPS before exceptional items declined from 7.0 cents in the prior period to 4.9 cents, primarily reflecting the translation impact of currency devaluation. Basic EPS of 0.8 cents compares to negative (1.5 cents) in the prior period, predominantly reflecting the $471m exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period, compared to $231m in the current period.

Capital allocation

·    Capex at $316m was 1.3% higher compared to prior period. Capex guidance for the full year remains between $725m and $750m as we continue to invest for future growth.

·    Over the year we have significantly reduced our foreign currency debt exposure, having paid down $809m of foreign currency debt. 89% of our OpCo debt (excl. lease liabilities) is now in local currency, up from 71% a year ago.

·    To secure beneficial contract structures and further enhance our partnership with ATC, we have extended our tower lease agreements for approximately 7,100 sites in four markets for a further 12-year period. The new agreements have a focus on renewable energy investment which will drive operating cost efficiencies over the medium-term and will have a neutral to positive impact on near-term free cash flow. The renewals has resulted in a $1.2bn increase in lease liabilities, which has been the primary driver of the increase in leverage to 2.3x from 1.6x in the previous quarter. No further material change in leverage should be expected from further renewals in the near-to-medium term.

·    The Board has declared an interim dividend of 2.6 cents per share, an increase of 9%, in-line with our progressive dividend policy. The $100m share buyback continues, with 61m shares purchased for a consideration of $88m as at the end of September 2024.

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

"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.

The scale of the opportunity across our markets remains substantial. A young and fast-growing population, combined with low levels of SIM and banking penetration on one hand, and increasing smartphone and digital payment adoption across our existing base on the other, provides a unique opportunity to leverage our extensive infrastructure for sustained growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We have already seen strong progress, with an acceleration in constant currency revenue growth over the last quarter as demand for our services remains strong, reflected in the 48% growth in data volumes over the first half of the year, despite the challenging backdrop in some of our markets.

Furthermore, we have seen our cost optimisation programme already show initial green shoots, which combined with operational leverage, has contributed to an expansion of our EBITDA margins in Q2'25 compared to the previous quarter. Foreign currency debt has fallen to just 11% of market debt at the end of September which reflects the work we have undertaken to de-risk the balance sheet.

We remain absolutely focussed on executing against our strategy to efficiently and effectively deliver essential services to improve the lives, communities and economies we serve. The growth opportunity across our markets remains compelling and we continue to focus on margin improvement."

(1)        Alternative performance measures (APM) are described on page 46

(2)        An explanation of constant currency adjustments is described on page 48

About Airtel Africa

Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa.

Airtel Africa offers an integrated suite of telecoms solutions to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services, both nationally and internationally. We aim to continue providing a simple and intuitive customer experience through streamlined customer journeys.

Enquiries

Conference call

Management will host an analyst and investor conference call at 13:00pm UK time (BST), on Friday 25th October 2024, 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:

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Key consolidated financial information

 ⁽¹⁾ Revenue includes inter-segment eliminations of $105m for the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $93m for the prior period.  

⁽²⁾ Mobile money revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services were $361m for the half year ended 30 September 2024, and $323m for the prior period.

⁽³⁾ EBITDA includes other income of $12m for the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $16m for the prior period.

⁽⁴⁾ Other finance cost - net of finance income of $297m for the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $402m in the prior period includes derivative and foreign exchange losses of $29m and $183m in the respective periods which have not been treated as exceptional items. Excluding these losses, other finance cost - net of finance income was $268m for the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $219m for the prior period.

⁽⁵⁾ Finance cost - exceptional items of $231m for the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $471m for the prior period relates to derivative and foreign exchange losses following the devaluation of the Nigerian naira, which resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $80m and $154m, respectively. As a result, there was a $151m negative impact on profit after tax in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $317m in the prior period.

Financial review for the half year ended 30 September 2024

Revenue

Group revenue in reported currency declined by 9.7% to $2,370m, with constant currency growth of 19.9%. Group mobile services revenue grew by 18.4% in constant currency, with voice revenue growth of 9.4% and data revenues increasing by 28.4% over the period. In Q2'25, constant currency revenue growth accelerated to 20.8% from 19.0% in Q1'25 primarily driven by 38.2% growth in Nigeria and Francophone Africa revenue growth of 9.0% in Q2'25 respectively. In H1'25, mobile money revenue grew by 28.8% in constant currency, primarily driven by continued strong growth in East Africa.

Reported currency revenue growth was particularly impacted by significant currency devaluations in Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. In particular, the naira devalued from a weighted average NGN/USD rate of 610 in the prior half-year period to NGN/USD 1,484 in the current period.

EBITDA

Reported currency EBITDA declined by 16.5% to $1,087m reflecting the impact of currency devaluation over the period, particularly in Nigeria. In constant currency, EBITDA increased by 13.5% with EBITDA margins of 45.8%, a decline of 378bps. The lower contribution of Nigeria following the significant naira depreciation and a significant increase in fuel prices (mainly in Nigeria by around 90%), were the primary drivers of the margin decline over the last year.  Mobile services EBITDA increased 9.9% in constant currency with EBITDA margin at 45.1%, whilst mobile money EBITDA margins of 53.0%, increased 167bps in constant currency, supporting growth of 33.0%.

Following the launch of a comprehensive cost efficiency programme, EBITDA margins in Q2'25 increased to 46.4% from 45.3% in the previous quarter (Q1'25).

Finance costs

Total finance costs for the half year ended 30 September 2024 was $528m, primarily impacted by $260m of derivative and foreign exchange losses (reflecting the revaluation of US dollar balance sheet liabilities and derivatives following currency devaluation), of which $231m was classified as exceptional following the naira devaluation[1]. Finance costs excluding exceptional items and derivative and foreign exchange losses increased from $219m to $268m in the current period primarily on account of higher market debt and shift of foreign currency debt to local currency debt in the operating entities carrying a higher average interest rate.  

Profit/(Loss) before tax

Profit before tax at $178m during the half year ended 30 September 2024 was largely impacted by the $260m derivative and foreign exchange losses as discussed above and lower EBITDA due to significant currency devaluation across key markets.

Taxation

Total tax charges were $99m as compared to a $25m in the prior period. Total tax charges in the current period reflected an exceptional gain of $80m and $154m in the prior period following the Nigerian naira devaluation. Tax charges excluding exceptional items were $179m in the current as well as in the prior period.

Tax charge of $99m during the half year ended 30 September 2024, on a profit before tax of $178m was largely due to profit mix between various OpCo's and withholding taxes.

Profit/(Loss) after tax

Profit after tax of $79m during the half year ended 30 September 2024 was primarily impacted by the $151m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax) and lower EBITDA due to significant currency devaluation across key markets.

Basic EPS

Basic EPS at 0.8 cents during the half year ended 30 September 2024 was impacted by the exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses as explained above. EPS before exceptional items and derivative and foreign exchange losses for the half year ended 30 September 2024 was 5.4 cents as compared to 10.5 cents in the prior period, reflecting the impact of significant currency devaluation across key markets on EBITDA.

Leverage

We have continued to improve our debt structure over the last year, having repaid the outstanding $550m of HoldCo debt in May 2024, and increased the proportion of local currency OpCo debt (excluding lease liabilities) on our balance sheet from 71% a year ago to 89% as of 30 September 2024. In total, we have paid down $809m of US dollar debt over the last year.

As explained in 'Other significant updates' on page 7, we have extended our tower lease agreements with ATC for approximately 7,100 sites in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Niger for a further 12-year period. Under IFRS16 accounting standards, the extension of these tower lease agreements by 12 years has resulted in an approximate $1.2bn increase in lease liabilities, resulting in approximately 0.6x increase in the Group's leverage ratio. Leverage was further impacted by the decrease in reported currency EBITDA following the naira devaluation, resulting in Group leverage of 2.3x as of 30 September 2024. No further material change in leverage should be expected from further renewals.

GAAP measures

Revenue

Reported revenue of $2,370m, declined by 9.7% in reported currency, and grew by 19.9% in constant currency driven by both customer base growth of 6.1% and ARPU growth of 11.1%. The gap between constant currency and reported currency revenue growth was due to the average currency devaluations between the periods, mainly in the Nigerian naira, the Malawian kwacha, the Zambian kwacha, and the Tanzanian shilling partially offset by an appreciation in the Kenya shilling.

Reported mobile services revenue at $2,013m, declined 12.6%, and grew by 18.4% in constant currency. Mobile money revenue grew by 11.9% in reported currency. In constant currency, mobile money revenue grew by 28.8%, driven by revenue growth in East Africa of 31.4% and Francophone Africa of 20.2%.

Operating profit

Operating profit in reported currency declined by 20.3% to $706m as currency headwinds offset the 9.7% growth of operating profit in constant currency. 

Total finance costs

Total finance costs of $528m for the half year ended 30 September 2024, was lower by $345m over the prior period. Current and prior period finance costs were primarily impacted by $231m and $471m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses respectively, following the significant devaluation in Nigerian Naira. Excluding exceptional items, finance cost was lower by $105m primarily on account of lower derivative and foreign exchange losses, partially offset by higher interest on market debt due to increase in market debt and shift of foreign currency debt to local currency debt in the operating entities carrying a higher average interest rate.

The Group's effective interest rate increased to 13.2% compared to 8.8% in the prior period, largely driven by higher local currency debt at the OpCo level, in line with our strategy of localising debt at OpCo, and the repayment of $550m of HoldCo debt which carried a lower-than-average interest rate.

Taxation

Total tax charges of $99m compares to $25m in the prior period. Total tax charges in the current period reflected an exceptional gain of $80m and $154m in the prior period on account of the Nigerian naira devaluation. Tax charges excluding exceptional items were $179m in current as well as in the prior period.

Basic EPS

Basic EPS at 0.8 cents during the half year ended 30 September 2024 was impacted by the derivative and foreign exchange losses as explained above.

Net cash generated from operating activities

Net cash generated from operating activities was $979m, lower by 12.7% as compared to $1,121m in the prior period.

Alternative performance measures[2]

EBITDA

EBITDA of $1,087m, declined by 16.5% in reported currency, and increased by 13.5% in constant currency. Growth in constant currency EBITDA was led by revenue growth and supported by continued improvement in operating efficiencies offset by the impact that inflationary cost pressures in a number of markets. The EBITDA margin declined by 378 basis points in reported currency to 45.8% reflecting the impact of lower contribution of Nigeria post significant naira devaluation and inflationary cost pressures.

The gap between constant currency and reported currency EBITDA growth was due to the currency devaluations between the periods, mainly in the Nigerian naira, the Malawian kwacha, the Zambian kwacha, and the Tanzanian shilling partially offset by an appreciation in the Kenyan shilling.

Tax

The effective tax rate was 40.3%, compared to 39.0% in the prior period. The effective tax rate is higher than the weighted average statutory corporate tax rate of approximately 32%, largely due to increase in income tax rate in one of the subsidiaries, the profit mix between various OpCos and withholding taxes on dividends by subsidiaries.

Exceptional items

The exceptional item of $231m in the current period and $471m in the prior period relates to derivative and foreign exchange losses following the devaluation of the Nigerian naira. These losses resulted in an exceptional tax gain of $80m and $154m respectively.

EPS before exceptional items

EPS before exceptional items of 4.9 cents as compared to 7.0 cents in the prior period was primarily impacted by the significant currency headwinds impacting reported currency results. EPS before exceptional items and derivative and foreign exchange losses was 5.4 cents compared to 10.5 cents in the prior period.

Operating free cash flow

Operating free cash flow was $771m, lower by 22.2%, as a result of lower EBITDA due to currency devaluation over the period particularly in Nigeria.

Other significant updates

Renewal of tower lease agreements with ATC

On 30 September 2024, the Company renewed tower lease agreements with American Tower Corporation (ATC) for approximately 7,100 sites across Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Niger which were set to expire over the next 12 to 24 months, for a period of 12 years. The tower lease agreements with ATC were initially entered as a sale and leaseback transaction over the period of 2015-16, for ten years. The renewals ensure we continue to benefit from contract structures, including the proportion that is linked to foreign currency.

Integral to the contractual terms is the focus on renewable energy solutions across a significant number of sites, particularly in Nigeria. This is expected to benefit the Company's operating costs in the medium term as the reliance on diesel is reduced, while also advancing Airtel Africa's ambition to drive reduced GHG emissions across the footprint, which remains a key priority for its sustainability agenda.

Under IFRS16 accounting standards, the extension of these tower lease agreements to 12 years will result in an approximate $1.2bn increase in lease liabilities, resulting in an approximate 0.6x increase in the Company's leverage ratio as of 30 September 2024.  No further material change in leverage from further renewals is expected in the near-to-medium term.

In addition, there will be increased finance costs in the early years of the contract term and a marginal increase in depreciation due to the recognition of the right-of-use asset on renewal. The impact from these contract renewals on profit after tax in the first year is expected to be approximately $120m - $130m, with 50% of this impact expected in FY'25. This impact is expected to reduce over the term of the contract, in line with the IFRS16 lease accounting methodology and as operating efficiencies materialise.

Importantly, there will be a neutral to positive impact on free cash flow for the Company due to these renewals in the near-term.

The renewals reinforce our commitment to enhance network capacity and reliability, enabling our ambition to offer a best-in-class network experience to our customers.

Kenya license extension

On 6^th September 2024, Airtel Kenya has received confirmation from the regulator on extension of existing Network Facility Provider, Application Service Provider, Content Service Provider and Internationally Gateway Station and Service licence as well as its spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz that were due for renewal in January 2025 for a period of 24 months effective January 2025.

Repayment of remaining $550m bond achieving a zero-debt position at HoldCo

On 20 May 2024, the Company announced that it has repaid in full the 5.35% Guaranteed Senior Notes maturing in May 2024. This bond repayment of $550m was made exclusively out of the cash reserves at the HoldCo and is a continuation of its strategy to reduce external foreign currency debt.

At the time of the IPO in June 2019, the Group had $2,719m of external debt at HoldCo which resulted in significant exposure to currency fluctuations and the reliance on upstreaming funds to cover both interest costs and the principal repayment. Through a consistent execution of its strategy supporting strong free cash flow generation, and continued upstreaming success, the Group has been reducing Holdco debt over the past few years and has now reached the significant milestone of a zero-debt position at HoldCo.

The current leverage and capital structure is a reflection of the Group's successful capital allocation strategy that has been in place since our IPO, and it will aim to continue reducing foreign currency debt obligations across its OpCo's.

Update on share buy-back programme

On 1 February 2024, the Company announced that in light of the increase in HoldCo cash, current leverage and the consistent strong operating cash generation, the Board intended to launch a share buy-back programme of up to $100m, over a 12-month period.

On 1 March 2024, Airtel Africa plc announced the commencement of its share buyback programme. As at the end of September 2024, the Company has purchased 61 million shares for a total consideration of $88m.

Directorate changes

On 9 May 2024, Airtel Africa plc announced the appointment of Paul Arkwright, CMG, as an independent non-executive director of the Company, with immediate effect.

On 3 July 2024, following the conclusion of the AGM, John Danilovich retired as an independent non-executive director of Airtel Africa plc.

Retirement of Airtel Africa plc CEO and appointment of Successor

On 2 January 2024, Airtel Africa plc announced the retirement of Chief Executive Officer Olusegun "Segun" Ogunsanya and the appointment of Sunil Taldar, who joined Airtel Africa in October 2023 as Director - Transformation, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Following a transition period, Sunil Taldar has been appointed to the Board as an Executive Director and has assumed the role of CEO on 1 July 2024, at which time Segun retired from the Board and the Company. Following his retirement from Airtel Africa, Segun will be available to advise the Chairman, the Airtel Africa Board and Chief Executive Officer for a 12-month period and appointed as Airtel Africa Charitable Foundation's inaugural Chair.

Nigerian Communications Commission directive on subscriber registration compliance

In December 2023, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) informed Airtel Nigeria, in an industry-wide directive, to undertake full network barring of all SIMs that have failed to submit their National Identity Numbers (NIN) on or before 28 February 2024. Likewise, customers that have submitted their NINs, but remain unverified are to be barred by 31 July 2024 (earlier deadline was 15 April 2024). Furthermore, guidelines were issued whereby no customer can have more than 4 active SIMs and all such excess SIMs must be barred by 29 March 2024. This directive is part of the ongoing Federal Government NIN-SIM harmonisation exercise requiring all subscribers to provide valid NIN information to update SIM registration records.

Airtel Nigeria has complied with the directives issued and barred all customers without NINs as well as customers with more than 4 active SIMs which had a negligible impact on revenue.

Chad License Renewal

In July 2024, Airtel Tchad S.A ("Airtel Tchad"), a subsidiary of the Group was issued with a National Telecom Operator licence for 2G/3G and 4G network. This licence renewal is with effect from April 2024 and is for a period of 10 years for a gross consideration of CFA54bn (approximately $90m).

Dividend payment timetable

The board has declared an interim dividend of 2.6 cents for the half year ended 30 September 2024, payable on 13 December 2024 to shareholders recorded in the register at the close of business on 8 November 2024.

                                                                                                London Stock Exchange                                Nigerian Stock Exchange

Last day to trade shares cum dividend                    6 November 2024                            5 November 2024

Shares commence trading ex-dividend                  7 November 2024                            6 November 2024

Record date                                                                       8 November 2024                            8 November 2024

Last date for currency election                                   25 November 2024                          25 November 2024

Payment date                                                                   13 December 2024                           13 December 2024

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 airtel.africa/investors

Strategic overview

The Group provides telecom and mobile money services in 14 emerging markets of Sub-Saharan Africa. Our markets are characterised by young and rapidly growing population, low smartphone penetration, and relatively large unbanked populations. Unique mobile user penetration across the Group's footprint is around 48%, and banking penetration remains under 50%. These indicators illustrate the significant opportunity still available to Airtel Africa to enhance both digital and financial inclusion in the communities we serve, enriching and transforming their lives through digitalisation, whilst 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 countries of operation. In particular, we have continued 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 refreshed strategy puts the customer at the core of our strategy. We believe that by ensuring great customer experience across our network and touchpoints we will deliver on our corporate purpose of transforming lives across Africa. Our consumer centric strategy is anchored on our 6 new 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 ongoing sustainability strategy and the 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 sets out our goals and commitments to foster financial inclusion, bridge the digital divide and serve more customers in some of the least penetrated telecommunication markets in the world.  

Strengthen 'Go-to-market'

We continue to strengthen our distribution footprint, especially our exclusive channel of kiosks/mini-shops and Airtel Money Branches (AMB) along with multi-brand outlets in both urban and rural markets. During the period, the Group expanded its exclusive franchise stores, adding over 7,400 kiosks and mini shops (taking the total to 88,300 kiosks and mini shops) and adding over 1,200 Airtel Money Branches (AMB). The Group also added over 36,000 activating outlets, an increase of 11%, enabling continued expansion of our customer base and strong growth in overall revenues.

 We also continue to accelerate our data revenue growth through a combination of higher mix of smartphones in our base and improving ARPUs. Our smartphone penetration stands at 42.9%, an increase of 5.3% points from H1'24 driven by our expansion of the 4G network and stronger execution. Our data consumption has increased to 7.1 GB per data user, growing by over 36% in Q2'25 driven by improved network experience and customer life-cycle management programs. A notable development is our intervention in Rwanda where we have been able to break barriers of affordability on both smartphone devices and data tariffs, thereby enabling accelerated adoption of data services during the period.

Best in class 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 like Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Reaching underserved communities is a key priority and we continue to expand rural coverage through new site rollouts and continue investing in spectrum and technologies to support increased capacity to facilitate our corporate purpose of transforming lives.

We have rolled out over 2,800 sites during the year and close to 4,200 4G sites. 96.6% or our sites are now 4G enabled compared to 92.3% in prior period and we have over 1,200 5G operational sites in five markets.

As part of ensuring our services are future ready, in addition to purchasing spectrum, we grew our fibre infrastructure and 5G capabilities and remain committed to our investment into data centres to further support digital inclusion across our markets. We continued to strengthen our fibre business, which is now delivering encouraging revenue growth. During the year we added a further around 3,500 km of fibre, with a total of 77,100+ km now deployed.

Overall, the capacity investment has resulted in a 20.1% increase in data capacity - reaching almost 34,000 terabytes (TB) per day, with peak hour data utilisation steadily increasing as we optimise asset performance.

Must win markets

Winning customers across all the markets through micro marketing using network and digital tools is fundamental to our strategy and will enable us to drive both financial and digital inclusion. We win in every micro segment by optimizing our network to improve customer experience or strengthen our distribution where our network is 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 there is 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 of micromarketing actions include improving indoor coverage, quality of network and delivering seamless experience by stitching our network experience through principles of community of interest. This will allow us to strengthen our position as a reliable network provider, attracting new customers and retaining our existing base.

Rural markets present a big growth opportunity given low penetration of both telecom and financial services. To tap the opportunity, our focus is on improving coverage and distribution expansion across all formats. 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

 In line with our strategic pillar of "Digitize and Simplify," we have made significant strides in streamlining our digital offerings and improving customer experiences through innovative technologies. Our focus remains on enhancing digital adoption and driving operational efficiencies to simplify user journeys and unlock growth across all digital touchpoints.

The My Airtel App differentiates through a single-app strategy for both telecommunications and wallet use cases and as a result has achieved significant digital adoption and transaction growth. Over the last year we have seen a 92% growth in monthly active users of the My Airtel App, with transaction value on the app increasing by over 70%.  This illustrates the growth in customer self-service in performing core communication and wallet related use cases such as airtime recharges, bundle purchase, peer-to-peer and bill payments.

We believe continued investments in digital infrastructure will enable us to accelerate productivity, while also improving experience for all stakeholders positioning Airtel for greater scalability and faster growth.

Accelerate Airtel Money

The low penetration of traditional banking services across our footprint leaves a large number of unbanked customers whose needs can be fulfilled largely through mobile money services. Our goal is to accelerate the adoption of Airtel Money across all regions, leveraging the success of our mobile money business model to expand financial access and inclusion, particularly in some of the world's most underserved communities.

During the period, our efforts were focused on expanding our ecosystem and driving customer acquisition. We introduced new international money transfer routes, rolled out new loan products, and continued to onboard more partners into our ecosystem. Additionally, a key priority was to promote digital app transactions, ensuring a seamless and more integrated experience for our customers while enhancing the overall value of our mobile money services.

We continued to strengthen our 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, our non-exclusive mobile money agent network expanded by 40%, driven by the successful implementation of our digital onboarding process. These distribution efforts, combined with enhanced product offerings, led to a 13.4% growth in our mobile money customer base, which now serves 41.5 million customers, representing 26.5% of our total customer base.

Mobile money has become an increasingly vital component of our 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.

Scale HBB and enterprise

Airtel's investment in 5G networks has helped power capacity to service customer need for unlimited internet service across key cities in 5 markets. The demand for these services is evident in the scale of usage, with customers consuming, on average 250GB per month across Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

During the period we have increased our investment into dedicated outbound sales teams which are focussed on-boarding high value customers on unlimited play, utilising our expansive 4G network. Further investment in ensuring customers have a seamless on-boarding to the home broadband service with the My Airtel App has helped improve customer convenience, particularly in the product use and recharges available across multiple integrated payment channels.

Enterprise services remains a key opportunity and focus. In particular, Nxtra by Airtel - our new data centre business - has broken ground in Nigeria and is expected to deliver 38 megawatts of total capacity and host high density racks, incorporating the latest best practice in construction design. This is the first of five hyperscale data centres to be developed by Airtel Africa on the continent. In addition, the launch of 'Telesonic' will leverage its fibre infrastructure across the continent to meet the growing demand for wholesale data in Africa by offering comprehensive fibre and submarine cable solutions.  

Financial review for the half year ended 30 September 2024

Nigeria - Mobile services

⁽¹⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $50m in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $78m in the prior period.

Revenue grew by 35.6% in constant currency, largely driven by continued strength in the demand for data services across the country, with growth accelerating to 37.9% in Q2'25 compared to 33.2% in Q1'25. In reported currency, revenues declined by 44.3% to $489m on account of the significant devaluation of the Nigerian naira. The constant currency revenue growth was driven by ARPU growth of 31.8% while customer growth was relatively stable following the disconnection of subscribers in compliance with the KYC directives issued by the regulator.

Voice revenue grew by 23.0% in constant currency, driven by voice ARPU growth of 19.6%.

Data revenue grew by 44.4% in constant currency, as a function of both data customer and data ARPU growth of 8.6% and 30.5%, respectively. Data usage per customer increased by 36.0% to 8.1 GB per month (from 5.9 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 6.2% to reach 48.5%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 10.9 GB per month compared to 8.6 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA of $238m declined by 49.7% in reported currency but increased by 22.3% in constant currency. The EBITDA margin declined by 526 basis points to 48.7% reflecting continued inflationary pressures across the business, particularly from the increase in diesel prices. Average diesel prices in Nigeria increased by approximately 90% compared to the prior period. In Q2'25, EBITDA margin has improved to 49.4% from 48.2% in Q1'25.

Operating free cash flow was $163m, up by 73.7% in constant currency, largely due to the constant currency EBITDA growth and lower capex while in reported currency, operating free cash flow declined by 55.2% due to lower reported currency EBITDA following the significant naira devaluation over the year.

East Africa - Mobile services ¹

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

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $1m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $438m in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $440m in the prior period.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $6m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $83m in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $66m in the prior period.

East Africa revenue grew by 7.5% in reported currency to $883m, and by 19.1% in constant currency. The constant currency growth was made up of voice revenue growth of 10.9%, data revenue growth of 26.1% and other revenue growth of 38.9%.

Voice revenues were supported by customer base growth of 9.0% while voice ARPU was flat. Voice ARPU's were negatively impacted by reduction in interconnect rate by regulator in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. The customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution network.

Data customer base growth of 12.1% and data ARPU growth of 10.0% drove the strong performance in data revenues. Our continued investment in the network and expansion of 4G network infrastructure resulted in 98.8% of our East Africa network sites on 4G, compared to 93.9% in the prior period. Furthermore, 986 sites are 5G enabled in four markets. In the half year, total data usage per customer increased to 5.9 GB per customer per month, up by 28.4%, with smartphone penetration increasing 4.9% to reach 40.2%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 7.4 GB per month compared to 6.1 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA increased to $418m, up by 2.5% in reported currency and up by 14.2% in constant currency. EBITDA margins of 47.3% declined by 233 basis points as a result of rising fuel prices in several of our key markets. However, in Q2'25, EBITDA margin improved as compared to Q1'25.

Operating free cash flow was $262m, up by 0.8% in constant currency, due largely to EBITDA growth, partially offset by increased capex.

The differential in growth rates (between constant currency and reported currency) is primarily contributed by the devaluation in the Zambian kwacha, the Malawian kwacha, and the Tanzanian shilling, partially offset by the Kenyan shilling appreciation.

Francophone Africa - Mobile services ¹

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

⁽²⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Voice revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $2m in the half year ended 30 September 2023. Excluding inter-segment revenue, voice revenue was $315m in the half year ended 30 September 2023.

⁽³⁾                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Other revenue includes inter-segment revenue of $2m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $1m in the prior period. Excluding inter-segment revenue, other revenue was $61m in half year ended 30 September 2024 and $66m in the prior period.

Revenue grew by 5.2% in reported currency and by 5.3% in constant currency. Revenue growth remains impacted due to high inflation in key markets impacting consumer spend, though it has improved from 3.6% in Q1'25 to 7.1% in Q2'25 on constant currency basis.

Voice revenue declined by 1.0% in constant currency, as customer base growth of 9.0% was more than offset by a decline in voice ARPU. Voice ARPU was negatively impacted by a reduction in the interconnect rate by the regulator in Congo B and Niger coupled with increased competitive intensity in pricing in few markets. Customer base growth was supported by the expansion of both network coverage and distribution infrastructure.

Data revenue grew by 18.1% in constant currency, supported by customer base growth of 10.6%. Our continued 4G network rollout resulted in an increase in total data usage of 41.8% and per customer data usage increase of 22.8%. Data usage per customer increased to 5.1 GB per month (up from 4.2 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 5.4% to reach 40.8%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 6.2 GB per month compared to 5.1 GB per month in the prior period.

EBITDA at $244m, declined by 7.8% and 7.7% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The EBITDA margin declined to 38.3%, a decline of 538 basis points, impacted by an increase in fixed frequency fees in a key market, rising energy costs combined with a slowdown in revenue growth in key markets. In Q2'25, EBITDA margins increased to 39.4% from 37.1% in the previous quarter.

Operating free cash flow was $178m, declined by 5.1% in constant currency, due to the decline in EBITDA, partially offset by lower capex.  

Mobile services

⁽¹⁾                    Mobile service revenue after inter-segment eliminations was $2,009m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $2,300m in the prior period.

Overall revenue from mobile services declined by 12.6% in reported currency with growth of 18.4% in constant currency. In Q2'25, constant currency revenue growth accelerated to 19.3% from 17.4% in the prior quarter. The constant currency growth was evident across all regions and services.

Voice revenue grew by 9.4% in constant currency, was supported primarily by the continued growth in the customer base as we continue to invest in our network and enhance our distribution infrastructure. The voice ARPU growth of 1.4% was supported by an increase in voice usage per customer of 3.5%, reaching 295 minutes per customer per month, with total minutes on the network increasing by 11.6%. 

Data revenue grew by 28.4% in constant currency, driven by both customer base growth of 10.4% and data ARPU growth of 13.5%. The customer base growth was recorded across all the regions supported by the expansion of our 4G network. 96.6% of our total sites are now on 4G, compared with 92.3% in the prior period. 5G is operational across five countries, with 1,221 sites deployed. Data usage per customer increased to 6.6 GB per customer per month (from 5.1 GB in the prior period), with smartphone penetration increasing 5.3% to reach 42.9%. Smartphone data usage per customer reached 8.5 GB per month compared to 6.9 GB per month in the prior period. Data revenue contributed to 41.9% of total mobile services revenue, up from 39.7% in the prior period.

EBITDA was $907m, down 21.1% in reported currency, and up by 9.9% in constant currency. In Q2'25, EBITDA margins increased to 45.7% from 44.4% in the prior quarter on the back of improvements across all regions. The EBITDA margin declined by 484 basis points YoY to 45.1%, a decline of 347 basis points in constant currency, due largely to increase in fuel prices across key markets.

Operating free cash flow was $610m, up by 14.2% in constant currency, due to the increased constant currency EBITDA, partially offset by higher capex.

Mobile money

 ⁽¹⁾ Mobile money service revenue post inter-segment eliminations with mobile services was $361m in the half year ended 30 September 2024 and $323m in the prior year.

Mobile money revenue grew by 11.9% in reported currency, with constant currency growth of 28.8%. The constant currency mobile money revenue growth was driven by revenue growth in both East Africa and Francophone Africa of 31.4% and 20.2%, respectively. In Nigeria, we continue to focus on customer acquisitions with 1.4 million of active customers registered for mobile money services at the end of September 2024. Additionally, we added almost 117,000 agents during the year reaching over 231,000 agents as of 30 September 2024.

The constant currency revenue growth of 28.8% was driven by both our customer base growth of 13.4% and mobile money ARPU growth of 10.9%. The expansion of our distribution network, particularly our exclusive channels of Airtel Money branches and kiosks, supported customer base growth of 13.4%. The mobile money ARPU growth of 10.9% was driven by transaction value per customer growth of 12.1% in constant currency, to $268 per customer per month.

Annualised transaction value amounted to $128bn in reported currency, with mobile money revenue contributing 19.6% of total Group revenue during the half year ended 30 September 2024.

EBITDA was $247m, up by 15.4% and 33.0% in reported and constant currency, respectively. The EBITDA margin reached 53.0%, an improvement of 167 basis points in constant currency and 162 basis points in reported currency, driven by continued operating leverage.

The differential in growth rates (between constant currency and reported currency) is primarily as the result of devaluation in the Zambian kwacha, the Malawi kwacha, and the Tanzanian shilling.

Regional performance

Nigeria

East Africa

Francophone Africa

Consolidated performance

Related party transactions

Related party transactions are disclosed in note 16 to the condensed set of financial statements.

There have been no material changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report.

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 pages 72-79 of our 2024 Annual Report and Accounts. Based on the Group's assessment, there has been no changes to the group's principal risks in the period. 

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 and regional tensions have the potential to impact our business directly and indirectly due to the interconnectedness of the global supply chain. Relatedly, adverse macroeconomic conditions such as rising inflation and increased cost of living not only puts pressure on the disposable income of our customers but also increases the cost of inputs for our business negatively impacting 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.

5.    Adverse changes in our external business environment and macro-economic conditions such as supply chain disruptions, increase in global commodity prices and inflationary pressures could lead to a significant increase in our operating cost structure while also negatively impacting the disposable income of consumers. These adverse economic conditions therefore not only put pressure on our profitability but also on customer usage for our services.

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.    Our internal control environment is subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate due to changes in internal or external conditions, new accounting requirements, delays, or inaccuracies in reporting.

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, and 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 in a diverse and dynamic legal, tax and regulatory environment. Adverse changes in the political, macro-economic and policy environment could have a negative impact on our ability to achieve our strategy. While the group makes every effort to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations in all its operating jurisdictions in line with the group's risk appetite, we are however continually faced with an uncertain and constantly evolving legal, regulatory, and policy environment in some of the markets where we operate.

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 based on the following methodology:

a)    Comparing the average devaluation of each currency in the markets in which the Group operates against US dollar on 3-year and 5-year historic basis and onshore forward exchange rates over a 1-year period.

b)    If either of the above devaluation is higher than 5% per annum, management selects the highest of these exchange rates.

c)    Management then uses this exchange rate to monitor the potential impact of using such rate on the Group's income statement so that the Group can actively monitor and assess the impact on the Group's financials due to exchange rate fluctuations.

Additionally, for our Nigerian operations, management uses different sensitivity analysis for scenario planning purposes which includes the recent impact of the naira devaluation.

With respect to currency devaluation sensitivity going forward, on a 12-month basis assuming that the USD appreciation occurs at the beginning of the period, a further 1% USD appreciation across all currencies in our OpCos would have a negative impact of $41m - $43m on revenues, $19m - $20m on EBITDA and $27m - $29m on foreign exchange loss (excluding derivatives). Our largest exposure is to the Nigerian naira, for which on a similar basis, a further 1% USD appreciation would have a negative impact of $9m - $10m on revenues, $4m - $5m on EBITDA and $15m - $16m on foreign exchange loss (excluding derivatives).

This does not represent any guidance and is being used solely to illustrate the potential impact of further currency devaluation on the Group for the purpose of exchange rate risk management. 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 2023/24.

Going concern

As stated in note 3.1 to the condensed financial statements, the directors are satisfied that the Group has sufficient resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the condensed financial statements.

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 half year ended 30 September 2024

Consolidated Financial Statements

Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

(All amounts are in US$ millions unless stated otherwise)