The substantial increase in fuel prices and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the Group after the naira devaluation contributed to a decline in EBITDA margins to 45.3% from 49.5% in Q1’24 and 46.5% in Q4’24.
Latest report released today revealed constant currency EBITDA increased 11.3% whilst reported currency EBITDA declined by 23.3% to $523 million.
According to the Airtel Africa plc results for quarter ended 30 June 2024, the African Group reported currency revenues declined by 16.1% to $1,156 million reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.
The report showed that across the Group mobile services revenue grew by 17.4% and Mobile Money revenue grew by 28.4% in constant currency.
Airtel Africa Plc stated its profit after tax of $31 million was impacted by $80 million of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses, arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the quarter.
The operational highlights indicated that:
Total customer base grew by 8.6% to 155.4 million. Data customer penetration continues to rise, driving a 13.4% increase in data customers to 64.4 million. Data usage per customer increased by 25.1% to 6.2 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing 4.7% to reach 41.7%.
Mobile money subscriber growth of 14.9% reflects our continued investment into distribution to support increased financial inclusion across our markets. Transaction value increased by 28.7% in constant currency with annualised transaction value of $120bn in reported currency.
Data ARPU growth of 9.6% and mobile money ARPU growth of 8.8% in constant currency continued to support overall ARPU’s which increased 9.3% YoY.
Customer experience remains core to our strategy with sustained network investment driving increased capacity and coverage. Data capacity across our network has increased by 33% with the rollout of almost 3,000 sites and over 5,600 kms of fibre.
Launched a comprehensive cost efficiency programme to identify specific cost reduction initiatives across the Group. Steps taken include the optimisation of network utilisation and design, introducing energy saving initiatives to reduce network costs and the renegotiation of key contracts, whilst ensuring future growth ambitions remain protected. We anticipate the full benefit of this programme to accrue over the year ahead.
Total customer base grew by 8.6% to 155.4 million. Data customer penetration continues to rise, driving a 13.4% increase in data customers to 64.4 million. Data usage per customer increased by 25.1% to 6.2 GBs, with smartphone penetration increasing 4.7% to reach 41.7%.
Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sunil Taldar said in his comment: “The continued revenue growth momentum once again reflects the resilient demand for our services, with sustained growth in our customer base and usage. Our superior execution enables us to capture these opportunities, whilst retaining our reputation as a cost leader across the industry.”
He added: “Having visited most of our OpCos since I joined Airtel Africa, I am encouraged by the scale of the opportunity available across our markets in both the GSM and mobile money business. A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business especially in the enterprise, fibre and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa. “
He promised that the telecom company will build on the strong foundation established over many years to deliver on these new business opportunities adding that “emphasis is on significantly improving customer experience by simplifying customer journeys and providing best in class network experience to our customers, whilst remaining focused on driving efficiencies across the business. “
He disclosed that Airtel Africa has initiated a comprehensive cost optimisation programme across the Group, saying “We have already seen success in this project, with savings arising in network and distribution costs, and continued opportunities as contract renegotiations continue. We expect sustainable savings to continue as the year progresses.”
