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Airtel Money's First Results: $830M in Six Months

In its first results since listing in London, Airtel Money grew revenue 34% to $830 million and profit 21.6% to $228 million, though its margin slipped.

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The white Airtel logo, a curved swirl above the word airtel, on a solid red background
Logo: Airtel Africa, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

[ The short version ]

  1. 01Airtel Money's revenue rose 34% to $830 million in the six months to 30 September, or 25.1% in constant currency, in its first results since its London listing.
  2. 02Profit after tax rose 21.6% to $228 million and customers grew 18.7% to 56.7 million across 13 African markets, according to TechTrendsKE.
  3. 03The EBITDA margin narrowed to 48% from 50.8%, which the company puts down mainly to new intra-group agreements with Airtel Africa and a levy in the DRC.

Airtel Money, the mobile money business that Airtel Africa floated in London this month, has reported its first results as a listed company. Revenue for the six months to 30 September rose 34% to $830 million, up from $620 million a year earlier, according to TechTrendsKE and Nairametrics. In constant currency the growth was 25.1%; a stronger Zambian kwacha did much of the rest.

$830M
Airtel Money revenue, six months to 30 September 2026Up 34% reported, 25.1% in constant currency, according to TechTrendsKE

Profit after tax rose 21.6% to $228 million. Underlying EBITDA reached $398 million, up 16.1% in constant currency according to Nairametrics, but the margin narrowed to 48% from 50.8%. The company says most of that comes from revised agreements with its parent, under which retention revenue it receives from Airtel Africa will be phased out by March 2027, and from a new levy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Where the growth came from

  • Customers rose 18.7% to 56.7 million across 13 markets; app users rose 64.3% to 4.1 million.
  • Transaction value reached $128 billion in the half, up 36.8% in constant currency, an annualised $270 billion in the second quarter.
  • Lending and savings revenue grew 44.8% in constant currency, but is still only 4.7% of revenue.
  • Merchants accepting Airtel Money rose 85.5% to more than 587,000, and active agents to 2.4 million.
  • East Africa brought in $615 million of revenue; Francophone Africa grew 40.2% to $215 million, led by the DRC.

Chief executive Ian Ferrao said he expects the margin to strengthen in the second half and pointed to about 75 million Airtel telecom subscribers who do not yet use Airtel Money. The company kept its guidance of revenue growth in the mid-20s per cent in constant currency for the year to March 2027, with margins returning above 50% over the medium term.

It also declared an interim dividend of 6.4 US cents a share, about 81% of profit attributable to shareholders, payable on 4 December. Airtel Money began unconditional trading in London on 14 October, after existing shareholders sold 10% of the company at £1.96 a share, valuing it at about £5.3 billion ($7 billion), according to TechTrendsKE.

Sources and notes
  • #AirtelMoney
  • #mobilemoney
  • #fintech
  • #earnings
  • #AirtelAfrica

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