January 30, 2026/Cordros Report
Airtel Africa Plc (AIRTELAFRI) released its unaudited Q3-26 financial results today, reporting a 34.5% y/y growth in EPS to USD0.05, lifting 9M-26 EPS to USD0.13 (+198.2% y/y). The performance was underpinned by a 32.9% y/y revenue growth and a 278bps y/y expansion in EBITDA margin.
AIRTELAFRI’s group revenue increased by 32.9% y/y in Q3-26 (9M-26: +28.3% y/y), driven by broad-based growth across key segments—voice (+22.0% y/y), data (+44.0% y/y), mobile money (+36.7% y/y), and other services (+18.4% y/y). Data remained the primary growth engine, contributing 39.4% to total revenue, supported by a larger subscriber base (+14.6% y/y; +3.70m net additions in Q3-26), higher data ARPU (+23.4% y/y to USD2.79), stronger data usage per customer (+24.6% y/y), and increased smartphone data usage (+20.5% y/y to 10.6GB). Voice growth reflected continued customer additions (+10.0% y/y to 179.39m, with +5.57m net adds in Q3-26) and improved voice ARPU (+10.4% y/y to USD1.14). Overall, mobile services ARPU rose by 19.1% y/y to USD2.65 (9M-26: +15.2% y/y to USD2.52).
Meanwhile, mobile money revenue increased by 36.7% y/y (9M-26: +34.9% y/y), reflecting growth across wallet services (+38.1% y/y), payments and transfers (+33.2% y/y), financial services (+81.8% y/y), and other offerings (+23.8% y/y). The mobile money customer base expanded 17.3% y/y to 51.99 million (Q3 net additions: +2.23m), while ARPU increased 14.9% y/y to USD2.38. Total processed value rose 45.6% y/y to USD52.97 billion, indicating higher engagement and transaction intensity.
On regional performance, Nigeria’s Opco revenue surged by 71.0% y/y (9M-26: +52.2% y/y), supported by strong growth across voice (+53.9% y/y), data (+91.2% y/y), mobile money (+107.6% y/y), and other services (+52.9% y/y). This was driven by subscriber growth (+7.8% y/y to 56.21 million) and a sharp step-up in ARPU (+56.9% y/y to USD2.60).
East Africa revenue grew by 23.1% y/y (9M-26: +23.0% y/y), led by voice (+18.4% y/y), data (+21.0% y/y), and mobile money (+32.3% y/y). Subscribers increased by 9.5% y/y to 83.71 million, with ARPU up 6.9% y/y to USD2.28.
In Francophone Africa, revenue increased by 23.7% y/y in Q3-26 (9M-26: +20.8% y/y), driven by data (+38.5% y/y) and mobile money (+42.7% y/y), alongside contributions from voice (+5.5% y/y) and other services (+9.3% y/y). Subscribers expanded by 14.5% y/y to 39.47 million, while ARPU increased by 6.9% y/y to USD3.47.
Group EBITDA margin expanded by 278bps y/y to 49.6% (9M-26: +272bps y/y to 48.9%), as revenue growth outpaced total expenses (+26.3% y/y). By region, margins improved in Nigeria (+926bps y/y to 57.8%; 9M-26: +828bps y/y to 56.7%), East Africa (+7bps y/y to 53.5%; 9M-26: +37bps y/y to 53.2%), and Francophone Africa (+106bps y/y to 44.3%; 9M-26: +117bps y/y to 44.1%).
Total finance costs rose by 179.2% y/y to USD202.43 million (9M-26: -15.8% y/y to USD505.67 million), driven by higher interest on lease liabilities tied to incremental site rollout, alongside a sharp reduction in derivative and FX gains (USD9.00 million in Q3-26 vs USD107.00 million in Q3-25).
Finally, profit before tax increased by 16.2% y/y to USD366.92 million, while profit after tax rose by 24.4% y/y to USD209.92 million. For 9M-26, profit before tax grew by 107.2% y/y to USD1.02 billion, while profit after tax grew by 136.6% y/y to USD586.02 million.
Comment: AIRTELAFRI’s Q3-26 performance was broadly in line with expectations, with a clear return to broad-based growth across operating regions. Results reflect sustained subscriber expansion, resilient data demand, and supportive currency dynamics. We expect momentum to remain intact through the rest of 2026FY, driven by continued customer acquisition and structurally rising data consumption. Our estimates are under review.
