Airtel Africa has reported double-digit revenue growth for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, as rising smartphone adoption, surging data usage and continued expansion of its Airtel Money platform helped boost both customer numbers and profitability.
Revenue increased 31% year-on-year in reported currency to US$1.85 billion, reflecting constant currency growth of 21.1%. Mobile services revenue rose 19.1% in constant currency, while mobile money revenue grew 25.8%. Data remained the strongest-performing segment, with revenue increasing 27.2% and voice revenue growing 11.2%.
The operator’s customer base grew 11.6% to 189 million subscribers, with data customers rising 15.5% to 87.3 million. Smartphone penetration reached 51%, up from 45.8% a year earlier, helping drive monthly data usage per customer from 7.8GB to 10.6GB and increasing total data traffic across the network by 56.3%.
Airtel Money also continued its strong growth trajectory. The platform’s customer base increased 23.3% to 56.5 million, while annualised total processed value (TPV) rose 51.5% to more than US$245 billion as the company expanded digital payment services and financial inclusion initiatives.
EBITDA increased 36.6% in reported currency to US$928 million, with the EBITDA margin improving by 206 basis points to 50.1%, despite higher energy costs linked to recent geopolitical developments. Profit after tax rose to US$198 million from US$156 million in the same period last year, although earnings were impacted by a US$37 million exceptional finance cost relating to the settlement of a commercial dispute at one of its subsidiaries.
During the quarter, Airtel Africa significantly increased network investment, with capital expenditure rising to US$389 million from US$121 million a year earlier. The operator deployed more than 920 new sites – its highest first-quarter rollout on record – and expanded its fibre network to 82,100km as it seeks to improve network quality and capacity ahead of future demand.
CEO Sunil Taldar said the company had made a strong start to the financial year, with customer growth accelerating across all business segments.
He added that continued investment in the network, combined with greater use of AI and digital technologies to improve customer experience, had supported rising smartphone adoption and data consumption across its markets.
Taldar also confirmed that Airtel Africa continues to target London as the preferred listing venue for Airtel Money later this year, saying the move would provide access to international investors while helping unlock the long-term value of the fintech business.