Airtel Africa has announced today that it earned $7 million in net profit during the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25), translating into a net loss of $170 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
Nigerian ongoing currency devaluation, has resulted in a 16.1 per cent fall in revenues to $1.15 billion, down from $1.37 billion in Q1FY24. Revenue growth was particularly impacted by significant currency devaluations in Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania.
Total finance costs for the quarter were $261 million, primarily impacted by $136 million of derivative and foreign exchange losses, of which $122 million was classified as exceptional. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) was recorded at $523 million, 23 per cent lower than the previous year.
The profit was impacted by $80 million of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax), arising from the further depreciation in the Nigerian naira during the quarter, the company said.
“A substantial increase in fuel prices across our markets and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the group after the naira devaluation contributed to a decline in Ebitda margins to 45.3 per cent from 49.5 per cent in Q1’24 and 46.5 per cent in Q4’24,” it said.
The total customer base in the latest quarter expanded by 8.6 per cent to 155.4 million, as mobile data and mobile money service penetration continued to climb. The quarter saw a 13.4 per cent surge in data customers to 64.4 million, and a 14.9 per cent increase in mobile money customers.
“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,” Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar said. Taldar took over as the CEO on July 1 after the retirement of long-time CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya.
Earlier, the company said it had been actively reducing its forex exposure across the group over the past few years and would continue to focus on this area in the future to mitigate the impact of any potential future devaluation.
