Economy
Airtel Africa Grows Earnings to $4.7bn in Nine Months
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About $4.7 billion was generated by Airtel Africa Plc in nine-month period ended December 31, 2025, details of the company’s financial statements revealed.
The telco disclosed that in the period under review, mobile services revenue grew by 23.3 per cent in constant currency, as data revenues, the largest contributor to group revenues, increased by 36.5 per cent, with voice revenues growing by 13.5 per cent.
In the same vein, EBITDA grew by 35.9 per cent in reported currency to $2.3 billion, with EBITDA margins expanding further to 48.9 per cent from 46.2 per cent in the prior period.
The third quarter of the fiscal year witnessed a further sequential increase in EBITDA margins to 49.6 per cent, driving EBITDA growth of 31.0 per cent in constant currency and 40.8 per cent in reported currency.
The financial results showed that profit after tax of $586 million improved from $248 million in the prior period. Higher profit after tax in the current period was driven by higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $99 million versus the $153 million derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period.
Commenting, the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said, “These results highlight the strength of our strategy, with strong operating and financial trends across the business. During the quarter, we accelerated investment to enhance coverage and data capacity while also expanding our fibre network.
“Coupling this investment with innovative partnerships, strengthens our customer proposition and positions us to capture the considerable growth opportunity across our markets.
“Digitisation, technology innovation and embedding AI in our processes will also optimise the customer experience with increased digital offerings and closer integration of GSM and Airtel Money services allowing us to unlock the strong demand across our markets. Smartphone adoption continues to increase with penetration of 48.1 per cent, and we are seeing solid progress in the development of our home broadband business, reflecting the need for reliable, high-speed connectivity across our markets.
“Our push to enhance financial inclusion across the continent continues to gain momentum with our Mobile Money customer base expanding to 52 million, surpassing the 50 million milestone. Annualised total processed value of over $210 billion in Q3’26 underscores the depth of our merchants, agents and partner ecosystem, and remains a key player in driving improved access to financial services across Africa. We remain on track for the listing of Airtel Money in the first half of 2026.
“Disciplined execution on cost efficiency, alongside accelerating revenue growth has enabled another sequential improvement in our quarterly EBITDA margin to 49.6 per cent, – underpinning constant currency EBITDA growth of 31 per cent – and we remain focussed on driving further incremental margin improvements.
“Our strategic priorities remain clear: to keep investing in best in class connectivity, accelerate financial inclusion through our mobile money platform and deliver a great customer experience. These results reinforce our confidence in the long term potential of our markets and our ability to create value for all our stakeholders.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
For the third straight session, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed bearish, further losing 0.15 per cent on Thursday amid weak demand for unlisted stocks.
During the session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 5.70 points to 3,908.67 points from 3,914.37 points, and the market capitalisation lost N3.41 billion to end N2.338 trillion compared with the N2.342 trillion it ended on Wednesday.
The alternative stock exchange suffered a loss despite having more price gainers than price losers, with five for the former and four for the latter.
Okitipupa Plc lost N10.00 to close at N250.00 per unit versus midweek’s N260.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc depreciated by N4.98 to N64.92 per share from N69.90 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc dropped 4 Kobo to sell at 50 Kobo per unit compared with the previous day’s 54 Kobo per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc moderated by 1 Kobo to N1.32 per share from N1.33 per share.
Conversely, 11 Plc gained N13.65 to quote at N276.55 per unit versus the preceding session’s N263.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by N6.10 to N84.15 per share from N78.05 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 32 Kobo to N3.60 per unit from N3.28 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 30 Kobo to N3.60 per share from N3.30 per share, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 10 Kobo to N1.09 per unit from 99 Kobo per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of transactions surged 2,797.1 per cent to 45.8 million units from 1.6 million units, the value of transactions jumped 315.2 per cent to N208.2 million from N50.1 million, and the number of deals soared 18.2 per cent to 39 deals from 33 deals.
At the close of business, CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 32.6 million units worth N1.9 billion, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 117.4 million units valued at N463.1 million, and Resourcery Plc with 1.05 billion units exchanged for N408.6 million.
Resourcery Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.05 billion units sold for N408.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 117.4 million exchanged for N463.1 million, and CSCS Plc with 32.6 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
Sell-offs in energy stocks could not bring down Nigeria’s stock exchange on Thursday, as the gains recorded by the others sustained the upward momentum.
Yesterday, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further appreciated by 1.39 per cent on the back of a strong appetite for domestic equities, which are gaining traction among investors.
The banking index grew by 2.63 per cent, the consumer goods sector appreciated by 054 per cent, the insurance counter improved by 0.50 per cent, and the industrial goods space rose by 0.29 per cent, while the energy industry fell by 0.11 per cent.
When the bourse closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) pointed northwards by 2,645.61 points to settle at 193,073.57 points compared with the previous day’s 190,427.96 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N1.698 trillion to N123.934 trillion from N122.236 trillion.
The trio of Deap Capital, Okomu Oil, and Fortis Global Insurance appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to N6.93, N1,459.70, and 55 Kobo apiece, while the duo of Infinity Trust Insurance and Zichis gained 9.96 per cent each to settle at N14.35, and N15.79, respectively.
On the flip side, the quartet of Tripple G, Multiverse, Secure Electronic Technology, and McNichols lost 10.00 per cent each to quote at N5.40, N25.20, N1.80, and N8.28, respectively, while Meyer declined by 9.80 per cent to N20.70.
Business Post reports that there were 52 appreciating equities and 26 depreciating equities on Thursday, showing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The busiest stock yesterday was Japaul with 80.1 million units valued at N293.3 million, Secure Electronic Technology sold 71.8 million units worth N136.5 million, Mutual Benefits transacted 58.7 million units for N277.6 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 53.2 million units valued at N4.5 billion, and GTCO traded 52.6 million units worth N6.2 billion.
Unlike the preceding session, the activity chart was in red after market participants transacted 898.5 million shares for N38.5 billion in 61,953 deals compared with the 3.7 billion shares worth N61.9 billion traded in 68,693 deals at midweek, implying a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 75.72 per cent, 37.80 per cent, and 9.81 per cent apiece.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated further against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, February 19, by N3.24 or 0.24 per cent to N1,341.35/$1 from the N1,338.11/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
However, it improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N11.16 to sell for N1,805.86/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,817.02/£1, and gained N7.83 against the Euro to close at N1,577.29/€1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,585.12/€1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira lost N2 against the greenback to settle at N1,349/$1 compared with the N1,347/$1 it was exchanged at midweek, and at the black market, the exchange rate remained unchanged at N1,370/$1.
The performance of the domestic currency in the spot market was weak yesterday amid prevailing dynamics of supply and demand, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) maintains its efforts to stabilise the foreign exchange market. The exchange rate remained within the expected range, lifted by strong forex inflows and central bank dollar sales to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market remained bearish, as there was continued caution in coins amid shaky interest in the digital assets.
On the policy front, there were tentative signs of progress on the digital asset market structure bill. The White House hosted talks between crypto industry representatives and bankers, which yielded incremental movement, though no compromise has yet emerged.
Ripple (XRP) declined by 1.7 per cent to $1.39, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.3 per cent to $52.46, Cardano (ADA) dropped 0.8 per cent to trade at $0.2715, Dogecoin (DOGE) retreated by 0.7 per cent to $0.0978, and Ethereum (ETH) contracted by 0.2 per cent to $1,943.30.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $82.12, Bitcoin improved its value by 0.7 per cent to $66,854.86, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $605.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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