Airtel attains 100 million subscriber mark in Africa, with bulk of revenue from Nigeria and East Africa
Airtel's overall customer base in Africa grew by 9.4% to reach 107.1 million. This is according to the India-based telco group financial results for the 9-month period ending on December 31, 2019, announced recently
Airtel stated that its revenue increased by 9.9% to stand at $2.52 billion for the period under review, indicating that its third quarter revenue increased by 12.8%. The firm added that in constant currency terms, the revenue grew by 12.4% during the 9-month period ending on December 31, 2019 and 14.2% in the third quarter of 2020, the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit constant currency growth.
The group saw growth across all services, with revenue in Voice, Data and Mobile Money rising by 3.9%, 39.0% and 40.4% respectively in constant currency
“I am pleased to announce another set of strong results which further demonstrate our on-going ability to deliver against the opportunities offered by the markets in which we operate. Our financial performance in the third quarter was strong as we delivered double-digit revenue growth in both reported and constant currency. Revenue growth accelerated in the third quarter to 14.2% as a result of improved performance in the Rest of Africa, supported by solid results in Nigeria and East Africa. This is now the eighth consecutive quarter that we have delivered double digit revenue growth and EBITDA margin expansion in constant currency.” Raghunath Mandava, Airtel Africa, CEO said.
With a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa, Airtel Africa offers an integrated suite of telecoms solutions to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.
Raghunath stated that revenue growth continues to be broad-based across voice, data and mobile money, adding that the telco has “continued to add customers,” who have increased by up 9.4% this quarter, contributing to an increase in voice revenue.
“We are also increasingly seeing the success of our strategy to lead in the roll-out of our modernized 4G networks, with more than 40% increase in data revenues for the quarter. Alongside this, a focus on increasing the number of use cases through international partnerships for our mobile money offer as well as increasing the distribution footprint have helped gain further acceptance of airtel money,” he said.
On specific markets and jurisdictions, Nigeria leads Airtel Africa’s growth with double digit voice revenue growth and over 70% data growth as a result of the firm’s 4G roll-out and the huge data capacities that have been created as a result.
