Airtel Africa's profit falls 9% to $88 million on higher finance cost

Bharti Airtel’s Africa unit on Friday reported a 9 per cent fall in its profit after tax (PAT) to $88 million for the quarter ended September on account of higher finance cost. The company posted a PAT of $96 million in the year-ago period.

However, the company’s revenue grew by 14 per cent at $965 million, against $844 million in the corresponding period last year, driven by increased data usage and mobile money. The revenue growth in data was 33.4 per cent and that in mobile money was 30.4 per cent, during the quarter. The two contribute 40 per cent to the company’s overall revenue.

In constant currency terms, Airtel Africa recorded a growth of 19.5 per cent to $472 million in operating profit on a constant currency basis, the company said in a statement.