The customer base for mobile phone network services provider Airtel Africa grew by 9.1 percent to 151.2 million during a nine-month period ended December 31 2023.
The firm says in its third quarter results for the year under review that penetration of mobile data and mobile money services also went up, driving a 22.4 percent increase in data customers to 62.7 million and a 19.5 percent increase in mobile money customers to 37.5 million.
It says mobile money transaction value increased by 41.3 percent, with annualised transaction value of $116 billion in reported currency.
According to the financial statement, revenue in constant currency grew by 20.2 percent, with third quarter growth accelerating to 21.0 percent.
“All segments continued to deliver double-digit constant currency growth. Across the group, mobile services revenue grew by 18.6 percent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.2 percent and data revenue growth of 28.5 percent.
“Mobile money revenue grew by 31.8 percent in constant currency,” the report reads.
It says profit after tax for the period under review stood at $2 million, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, particularly the $330m exceptional loss after tax following the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023 and the Malawian Kwacha in November 2023 after the structural changes in their respective FX markets.
Airtel Africa Group Chief Executive Officer Olusegun Ogunsanya says the firm remains focused on the execution of its growth strategy.
“We continue to be well positioned to deliver on the attractive growth opportunities our markets offer and despite the challenge of rising diesel prices, ongoing currency devaluation and inflationary pressures across some of our markets; we remain focused on margin resilience,” it says.
Meanwhile, the firm has launched a landmark five-year $57 million partnership with Unicef across 10 markets providing access to educational resources, free of charge
