Airtel Africa has reported a net profit of $80 million for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025, a sharp contrast to the $91 million net loss recorded in the same period in 2024.

The improvement was driven by growth in customer base and increased data usage, which helped cushion the impact of higher financial costs.

However, net profit for the January–March 2025 period fell 56.2% sequentially, primarily due to a $21 million charge in derivative and foreign exchange losses, stemming largely from the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira.

According to its annual report released on Thursday, Airtel Africa also incurred a $16 million exceptional expense in Q4 as a provision for the settlement of a legal dispute involving a former group subsidiary, further dragging its bottom line.

Despite the profit slump, Airtel Africa’s revenue for the quarter rose by 23.2% year-on-year in constant currency to $1.131 billion.

This growth was supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and easing currency headwinds.

“An improved operating environment and focused execution contributed to strong momentum in our financial results with constant currency revenue growth peaking at 23.2% in Q4 2025. Part of this acceleration in the last quarter has also been driven by the Nigeria tariffs adjustment,” said Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa, in a statement.

The company’s total customer base grew by 8.7% to 166.1 million, with a notable 4.3% increase in smartphone penetration, which now stands at 44.8%.

Data customers rose by 14.1% to 73.4 million, while average data usage per customer climbed 30.4% to 7.0GB. These factors supported a 15.4% year-on-year growth in data ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) in constant currency.

Taldar also highlighted the continued expansion of Airtel Money, which saw a 17.3% increase in subscribers to 44.6 million. ARPU for mobile money grew by 11.4% in constant currency, while transaction value surged 34% in Q4, with an annualised transaction value of $145 billion.

“Our strategic focus on great customer experience was underpinned by sustained network investment with the rollout of 2,583 new sites and approximately 3,300 kilometres of fibre, supporting increased data capacity across the region,” he said.

Airtel Africa’s underlying EBITDA margin expanded from 45.3% in Q1 to 47.3% in Q4, reflecting improved operational efficiency. Taldar attributed this to accelerating revenue growth and the company’s cost optimisation programme.

“We remain focused on further EBITDA margin improvements, subject to macroeconomic stability. This, combined with our robust capital structure and disciplined capital allocation, puts us in a strong position to continue investing in network capacity to drive future growth,” he said.

New Telegraph in your inbox

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news updates instantly!