Airtel Africa revenue rose 38% in September 2026

Airtel Africa plc reported revenue of Rs 18,816.5 crore in the quarter ended September 2026, a 38% increase from September 2025, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 42% to Rs 9,510 crore and its EBITDA margin increased to 50.5% from 49.1%.

What drove Airtel Africa's September 2026 revenue growth?

Airtel Africa's reported revenue rose 38% year-on-year to Rs 18,816.5 crore in the quarter ended September 2026, from Rs 13,679.5 crore in the quarter ended September 2025. EBITDA increased faster than revenue, rising 42% to Rs 9,510 crore from Rs 6,715 crore. As a result, the EBITDA margin expanded by 1.4 percentage points to 50.5%.

The presentation reports a different growth rate in US dollars. Revenue was US$1,970 million in September 2026, up 26% from US$1,567 million a year earlier, while EBITDA rose to US$996 million from US$770 million. The average rupee conversion rate used was Rs 95.49 per US dollar for September 2026, compared with Rs 87.28 for September 2025, so the reported rupee and US-dollar growth rates are not identical measures.

Did Airtel Africa disclose mobile-money user and transaction growth?

Airtel Africa did not disclose mobile-money users, mobile-money transaction value or growth in either measure on the supplied page for September 2026. The operating table covers total customers, minutes on network, towers, employees and countries, while the financial table provides totals for revenue, EBITDA, capital expenditure and debt. Therefore, the stated 22% mobile-money-user increase and 37% transaction-value growth cannot be verified from this extract.

Airtel Africa does state that it provides mobile voice, data and mobile-money services across 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The group had a total customer base of 193.893 million at September 2026, up from 173.816 million at September 2025, but this is a total telecom customer measure rather than a mobile-money user count. The supplied page also does not split revenue or EBITDA among voice, data and mobile money.

The presentation likewise does not provide a constant-currency revenue growth figure for Airtel Africa. It gives reported revenue of Rs 18,816.5 crore and US$1,970 million for the September 2026 quarter, alongside the relevant average exchange rates. These figures establish overall reported growth, but they do not isolate the contribution from currency movements, data adoption or mobile-money activity.

How did Airtel Africa's full-year financial results change?

Airtel Africa's revenue for the full year ended 2026 increased 36% to Rs 56,806.4 crore from Rs 41,879.5 crore in 2025, while EBITDA rose 44% to Rs 28,071.3 crore from Rs 19,497.8 crore. The full-year EBITDA margin increased to 49.4% from 46.6%, a gain of 2.8 percentage points. Earnings before interest and tax rose 51% to Rs 18,739.8 crore, and its margin increased to 33.0% from 29.7%.

Net income was Rs 3,762.4 crore for the full year ended 2026, compared with Rs 1,066.8 crore in 2025. Reported net income before non-controlling interests and other deductions was Rs 6,001.3 crore in 2026, while the deduction labelled non-controlling interests and others was Rs 2,238.9 crore. The net profit margin consequently rose to 6.6% from 2.5% across the two years.

The US-dollar comparison also shows growth, although at lower reported rates than the rupee series. Full-year revenue rose to US$6,429 million in 2026 from US$4,959 million in 2025, while EBITDA rose to US$3,177 million from US$2,309 million. The average conversion rate was Rs 88.35 per US dollar in 2026 and Rs 84.46 in 2025, which affects the rupee values presented.

How did customers, network capacity and cash flow move?

Airtel Africa added 20.077 million customers over the year to September 2026, taking its total customer base to 193.893 million from 173.816 million. The customer base also increased by 4.894 million from 188.999 million at June 2026. Total minutes on network rose to 158.190 billion in the September 2026 quarter from 149.638 billion a year earlier.

Network towers increased to 42,490 at September 2026 from 38,314 at September 2025, an addition of 4,176 towers. Employee numbers rose to 4,512 from 4,310 over the same period, while the number of operating countries remained unchanged at 14. This means the reported customer and tower expansion occurred within the same geographic footprint.

Capital expenditure rose 49% to Rs 2,559.1 crore in the September 2026 quarter from Rs 1,719.5 crore a year earlier. Operating free cash flow, defined in the presentation as EBITDA less capital expenditure, nevertheless rose 39% to Rs 6,950.9 crore from Rs 4,995.5 crore. For the full year ended 2026, capital expenditure was Rs 7,867.9 crore and operating free cash flow was Rs 20,203.4 crore, compared with Rs 5,670 crore and Rs 13,827.8 crore in 2025.

What changed in Airtel Africa's debt measures?

Airtel Africa's net debt was Rs 56,376.7 crore at September 2026, compared with Rs 48,921.8 crore at September 2025 and Rs 53,762.2 crore at June 2026. Net debt excluding lease obligations was Rs 13,192.9 crore at September 2026, lower than Rs 14,494.6 crore a year earlier but above Rs 12,537.4 crore at June 2026.

The net-debt-to-annualised-EBITDA ratio declined to 1.48 times at September 2026 from 1.82 times a year earlier. Net debt excluding lease obligations relative to annualised EBITDA after leases was 0.43 times, compared with 0.68 times at September 2025. Interest coverage increased to 4.83 times from 3.86 times over the same comparison.

Shareholders' equity stood at Rs 24,921.4 crore at September 2026, compared with Rs 15,258.3 crore a year earlier. The return on capital employed, annualised, rose to 29.0% from 24.2%, while the return on shareholders' equity after tax was 18.9%, compared with 17.6%. These measures changed alongside the rise in quarterly EBITDA to Rs 9,510 crore.

Conclusion

Airtel Africa's September 2026 figures show broad reported expansion: revenue increased 38%, EBITDA increased 42%, the EBITDA margin rose to 50.5%, and the customer base reached 193.893 million. Full-year 2026 revenue rose 36% to Rs 56,806.4 crore, while net income increased to Rs 3,762.4 crore from Rs 1,066.8 crore in 2025. Higher capital expenditure was accompanied by a 39% rise in quarterly operating free cash flow.

The next disclosure to watch is whether Airtel Africa provides mobile-money users, transaction values, product-level revenue or a constant-currency growth measure. Those items remain unresolved in the supplied September 2026 presentation, despite Airtel Africa operating mobile-money services across 14 countries and reporting Rs 18,816.5 crore of quarterly revenue.