With a solid performance in the second quarter (+ 20.3%), Airtel Africa Plc, a subsidiary of the Indian group Bharti Airtel, recorded strong growth in the first half with a turnover of $ 2,272 million, an increase of by 25.2%. Double-digit growth noted in all the countries where the group is present.
“Our financial performance in the first half was solid. The first half of last year, and in particular the first quarter, was impacted by the onset of the Covid, but even after adjusting for these effects, our revenue growth rates for the half year for the group and all our service segments are ahead of our 2021 revenue growth trends, and in published terms, they are all in double digits, ”Segun Ogunsanya, group chairman and chief executive officer.
Also, the group announces a turnover at constant exchange rate up 27.6% in all regions, especially Nigeria (+ 32.4%), East Africa (+ 25.8% ) and in French-speaking Africa (+ 22.1%).
Growth also concerns other key services such as telephone calls which grew by 19.7%, data up 36.9% and mobile money up 42%. Underlying EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) increased 35.2% to $ 1,098 million in reported currencies and Underlying EBITDA margin improved to 48.3%, or a 360 basis point increase, driven by both revenue growth and improved operational efficiency.
Operating profit rose to $ 732 million, an increase of 55.1%. Profit after tax more than doubled to $ 335 million, largely due to higher profit before tax, which more than offset the related increase in tax expense.
The company claims 122.7 million customers, an increase of 5.4%, with increased penetration of mobile data (customer base up 10.9%) and mobile money services (customer base in increase of 19.0%).
