Economy
Weaker Naira Shrinks Airtel Africa 2025 Revenue by 30.4% to $4.955bn
By Adedapo Adesanya
Top telecommunication service provider, Airtel Africa Plc, saw its revenue fall by 30.4 per cent to $4.955 billion, significantly impacted by derivative and foreign exchange losses, primarily in Nigeria.
According to a report released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, the Profit After Tax (PAT) closed at $328 million for its year ended March 31, 2025, marking a return from an $89 million loss in the preceding year.
Nigeria’s persistent currency depreciation led to declines across all segments. Airtel saw its voice verticals fall by 36.9 per cent year-on-year, data fell by 26.2 per cent, and other services dropped 17.4 per cent year-on-year.
However, in constant currency, revenue grew by 36.4 per cent growth year-on-year, reflecting growth in voice (24.3 per cent in the same period), data (44.5 per cent), and other (58.7 per cent) revenue segments.
The revenue growth was driven by a 4.7 per cent increase in the total subscriber base to 53.32 million (with 1.17 million net additions in the last quarter of the company’s 2025 calender) and strong demand for data services, with data usage per subscriber rising 33.4 per cent year-on-year to 8.4 GB per month.
Airtel’s $4.955 billion grew 21.1 per cent in constant currency but declined by 0.5 per cent in reported currency as currency devaluation impacted reported revenues.
“Strong execution and the tariff adjustments in Nigeria contributed to a further quarter of accelerating growth, with Q4’25 revenue growth of 23.2% in constant currency, and 17.8% in reported currency as currency headwinds eased,” Airtel Africa said.
Across the Group, mobile services revenue grew by 19.6 per cent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 10.6 per cent and data revenue growth of 30.5 per cent and mobile money revenue grew by 29.9 per cent in constant currency.
EBITDA, which stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation, and is used to access a company’s operating performance, declined by 5.1 per cent in reported currency to $2.3 billion with underlying EBITDA margins of 46.5 per cent compared to 48.8 per cent in the prior year, impacted by increased fuel prices and the lower contribution of Nigeria to the Group.
However, following a more stable operating environment and benefits from its cost efficiency programme, underlying EBITDA margins have expanded from 45.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 to 47.3 per cent in the last quarter of 2025.
Airtel Africa’s customer base grew by 8.7 per cent to 166.1 million, with its focus on digital inclusion supporting a 4.3 per cent increase in smartphone penetration to 44.8 per cent.
Data customers increased by 14.1 per cent to 73.4million, with data usage per customer increasing by 30.4 per cent to 7.0 GB, supporting data Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth of 15.4 per cent in constant currency.
Airtel Money agent network which offers enhanced digital offerings and expanded use cases contributed to a 17.3 per cent increase in mobile money subscribers to 44.6 million and a 11.4 per cent growth in constant currency ARPU.
Speaking on the performance, the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said, “We have reported another strong operating performance as our strategy continues to deliver against the significant opportunity that exists across our markets. The focus on our refreshed strategy has seen continued investment in the network while also driving improvements in our digital platforms and offerings to further enhance the customer experience.”
“An improving operating environment and focused execution contributed to strong momentum in our financial results with constant currency revenue growth peaking at 23.2% in Q4’25. Part of this acceleration in the last quarter has also been driven by the Nigerian tariff adjustments,” he added.
Looking ahead, he said – “We are making significant progress in our preparations for the Airtel Money IPO and remain committed to this objective.
“However, we are also mindful of evolving market conditions. Therefore, subject to these conditions, we anticipate a listing event in the first half of calendar year 2026.”
“The recent stability in the operating environment is encouraging, however we remain conscious of global developments that may impact our business. We will remain focused on delivering our strategy to transform the lives of our customers and support economic prosperity across our markets,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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