|
Listen now
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
East Africa has become the largest contributor to Airtel Africa’ customer base and earnings, outperforming Nigeria and Francophone Africa as the telecommunications continues to deliver value to stakeholders.
East Africa that comprises Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, has a customer base of 82.30 million as at September 2025, which is 473.37 percent of total Group’s figure, according to data gathered by MoneyCentral.
That compares with Nigeria’s 53.60 million customer base and Francophone Africa 33.60 million.
Countries that make up Francophone include: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Republic of the Congo (Congo B) and the Seychelles.
The customer base growth in East Africa’s was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution network.
East Africa recorded sales of $1.04 billion as a year ended September 2025, which is 42 percent of Airtel Africa’s total revenue.
That compares with Francophone Africa and Nigeria whose revenues of $749 million and $649 million make up 30 percent and 27.95 percent of the Group’s figure.
It is important to note that the revenue growth reflects the consistent execution of Airtel Africa’s strategy, supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and continued strong growth momentum in Francophone Africa.
East Africa’ voice revenue which stood at $518 million is 47.17 percent of Airtel Africa’s figure, supported by customer base growth of 10.8 percent and voice ARPU growth of 3.8 percent. The customer base growth was largely driven by expansion of both increased network coverage and the increasing scale of the distribution network.
The Francophone operation and Nigeria both recorded voice revenues of $316 million and $264 million, which represents 28.77 percent and 24.04 percent of total Group figures.
East Africa data revenue stood at $434 million in the period under review, which was 37.38 percent of Group’s voice sales as Airtel Africa continues to invest in the network and expand its 4G and 5G network in the region. 1,467 sites are 5G enabled across four key markets. Data usage per customer increased to 7.3 GB per customer per month, up by 25.0 percent, with smartphone penetration increasing 3.5 percent to reach 43.7 percent.
Francophone and Nigeria both recorded voice data sales of $370 million and $357 million, which are 31.86 percent and 30.74 percent of total Group figures.
Nigeria records higher EBITDA Margin than East Africa, Francophone
Nigeria operations is the most efficient of all the firms in the Group as it recorded Earnings, before, interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin of 56.30 percent as at September 2025.
East Africa and Francophone recorded EBITDA margins of 48.30 percent and 39.50 percent respectively.
The Ebitda margin, which is calculated as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization divided by total revenue, is a good indicator of a company’s financial health as it doesn’t consider the effect of unique decisions and tax laws when assessing the performance of a company.
Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!
