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(Sharecast News) - Telecommunications provider Airtel Africa posted a strong set of fullyear results on Friday, with revenues, margins and earnings all rising sharply as the group benefited from robust customer growth, higher data usage and continued momentum in its mobile money business.
Airtel Africa said reported revenues jumped 29.5% to $6.42bn for the year ended 31 March, driven by broadbased growth across its markets and supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria.
Underlying earnings rose 37.2% to $3.16bn, with margins improving to 49.3% from 46.5% a year earlier. Operating profits increased 45.1% to $2.12bn, while pre-tax profits more than doubled to $1.42bn. Basic earnings per share rose to 18.6cents from 6.0cents in the prior year.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said its customer base grew 10.5% to 183.5m, the highest annual net additions on record, with data customers increasing 14.8% to 84.2m as smartphone penetration reached 49.5%, while monthly usage rose to 8.9GB from 7.0GB. Data revenues, now the largest contributor to group turnover, grew 35.2% in constant currency.
Airtel also said its Airtel Money unit had delivered strong momentum, with its customer base up 21.3% to 54.1m and annualised total processed value rising 49% to more than $215bn in the fourth quarter. Mobile money revenues increased 28.4% in constant currency, supported by broader use cases and deeper platform engagement.
Capex rose 31.9% to $884m as the group rolled out more than 3,250 new sites and expanded its fibre network to 81,900km.
Airtel Africa guided to around $1.1bn of capex in FY27 as it accelerates investment in coverage, capacity, home broadband and data centres.
Additionally, the board of Airtel Africa recommended a final dividend of 4.26cents per share, taking the fullyear payout to 7.1cents - up 9.2% yearonyear.
As of 0820 BST, Airtel Africa shares were down 1.81% at 357.40p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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