July 23, 2026/Cordros Report
Airtel Africa Plc (AIRTELAFRI) released its Q1-27 unaudited results today, reporting a 27.9% y/y growth in EPS to USD0.04 (Q1-26: USD0.03). Earnings performance was underpinned by robust revenue growth (+31.0% y/y) and a 206bps y/y expansion in EBITDA margin to 50.1%, reflecting sustained growth in data consumption, continued subscriber additions, and ongoing benefits from the group’s cost efficiency initiatives.
AIRTELAFRI’s revenue increased by 31.0% y/y in Q1-27 driven by broad-based growth across voice (+20.1% y/y | 34.5% of revenue), data (+36.5% y/y | 40.5% of revenue), mobile money (+38.9% y/y | 21.8% of revenue), and other revenue (+19.7% y/y | 20.2% of revenue) segments. Data remained the key growth driver, supported by a larger customer base (+15.5% y/y to 87.33 million | Q1-27 net adds: 3.09 million), higher data ARPU (+18.4% y/y to USD2.89), increase in data usage per customer (+35.6% y/y to 10.56GB vs. 7.79GB in Q1-26), a 520bps y/y increase in smartphone penetration to 51.0%, and a 30.2% increase in smartphone data usage per customer to 12.50GB. Growth in the voice segment reflected continued customer additions (+11.6% y/y to 189.00 million, with +5.45 million net adds in Q1-27) and a modest increase in voice ARPU (+8.2% y/y to USD1.14).
Meanwhile, mobile money performance remained robust, supported by a 23.3% y/y increase in the customer base to 56.49 million (Q1-27 net adds of 2.44 million) and a 51.5% y/y growth in total value processed to USD61.40 billion. Growth was broad-based across all key revenue streams, with wallet services, payments and transfers, and financial services expanding by 44.0% y/y, 38.6% y/y, and 67.4% y/y, respectively, reflecting continued user engagement and deeper monetisation of the mobile money ecosystem.
On regional performance, Nigeria’s OpCo revenue grew by 50.4% y/y supported by strong growth across voice (+42.6% y/y | 38.1% of revenue), data (+59.9% y/y | 52.5% of revenue), mobile money (+153.2% y/y | 0.9% of revenue), and other services (+30.7% y/y | 8.8% of revenue). The performance in Nigeria reflects (1) customer base growth (+12.04% y/y to 60.09 million | Q1-27 net add of 6.46 million), (2) higher ARPU (+35.4% y/y to USD2.80) and (3) the appreciation of the naira from NGN1,585,00/USD in Q1-26 to NGN1,367.00/USD in Q1-27.
East Africa revenue grew by 27.6% y/y driven by broad based growth across voice (+16.3% y/y), data (+29.7% y/y), mobile money (+37.2% y/y), and other revenue (+9.3% y/y). The OpCo’s performance was driven by increase in customer base (+9.3% y/y to 86.45 million | Q1-27 net adds of 7.37 million), higher ARPU (+17.4% y/y to USD3.30), and the appreciation of the Zambian kwacha.
In Francophone Africa, revenue increased by 19.7% y/y primarily driven by growth in data (+22.8% y/y) and mobile money (+40.8% y/y), alongside contributions from voice (+6.7% y/y) and other revenue (+11.4% y/y). Performance was driven by customer base expansion (+15.8% y/y to 42.45 million | Q1-27 net adds of 5.78 million), while ARPU expanded (3.5% y/y to USD3.90).
EBITDA grew by 36.6% y/y, leading to a 206bps y/y increase in EBITDA margin to 50.1%, as revenue growth (+31.0% y/y) outpaced the 25.0% y/y rise in total expenses. Notably, EBITDA margin improved in Nigeria (+297bps y/y to 58.6%), East Africa (+55bps y/y to 52.5%), and Francophone Africa (+53bps y/y to 44.7%). Notably, the EBITDA margin declined slightly from 50.3% in Q4-26 on higher global fuel prices.
Further down, total finance costs rose by 55.9% y/y to USD269.00 million, primarily reflecting the increase in interest on lease liabilities, following the acceleration of site rollout. Additionally, the company incurred USD37.00 million exceptional item cost related to an in-principle settlement in respect of a commercial dispute in one of the Group’s subsidiaries.
Overall, AIRTELAFRI reported a profit before tax of USD360.00 million (+32.0% y/y) and a profit after tax of USD198.00 million (+27.1% y/y).
Comment: AIRTELAFRI delivered a strong start to 2027FY, recording broad-based growth across all operating regions and service segments, supported by sustained subscriber additions, rising data consumption, and favourable currency movements. Looking ahead, we expect earnings momentum to remain robust, underpinned by structural growth in data demand, increasing smartphone penetration, and the continued expansion of Airtel Money ahead of its proposed IPO. Our estimates are under review.
