Airtel Africa grows net profit in 9M-2021
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Airtel Africa grew net profit to $514 million in the nine months to September 2021 (9M-2021) from $261 million in 9M-2020, a 97.3 per cent lift that rode on the crest of a 22.5 per cent jump in revenue to $3.49 billion from $2.85 billion.
The telecom operator’s unaudited financial statement attributed the increase in net profit to a higher operating profit which rose 43 per cent from $800 million in 9M-2020 to $1.15 billion in 9M-2021.
It reported a 17.90 per cent growth in revenue of $1.22 billion in the fourth quarter ended December 2021 (Q4 2021) from $1.03 billion in Q4 2020. Profit after tax appreciated 54.4 per cent to $180 million.
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Other highlights in 9M-2021
- A double-digit growth across all key services. Voice revenue 16.1 per cent, data revenue 37.2 per cent, and mobile revenue 22.0 per cent.
- Revenue from Nigeria contributed about 39 per cent to the total, the highest, compared with East Africa and Francophone Africa.
- Revenue in Nigeria grew 21.3 per cent from $1.13 billion in 9M-2020 to $1.37 billion. Data revenue rose 44.5per cent.
- Total customer base in Nigeria declined by two million, largely due to new “Know-Your-Customer” (KYC) requirements which initially included a temporary ban on new customer activations.
- Airtel Africa paid approximately $350 million in tax, 58 per cent more than it paid in 9M-2020
- Group customer base expanded to 125.8 million, or by 5.8 per cent, with increased penetration across mobile data and mobile money services, according to Nairametrics reporting.
Investment in expansion
“Operationally we have continued to execute on our network and distribution expansion plans, driving continued strong growth in ARPUs across voice, data and mobile money,” Airtel Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Segun Ogunsanya said.
“We have also seen further improvement in our customer growth trends for the Group with Nigeria returning to strong customer growth after a period affected by the implementation of new ‘know your customer’ requirements.
“We will continue to invest in expanding and evolving our platform to further deepen both financial and digital inclusion across Africa ….
“We are committed to continue to improve the delivery of our services to our customers, with sustainability at the heart of our continued purpose to transform lives across Africa.”
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