Airtel Africa profit rises 24% in Q3 FY26, up 136% in nine months

Forex gains from currency appreciation and higher data revenues boost earnings, while subscriber base and smartphone penetration continue to rise across markets

Bharti Airtel’s Africa arm, Airtel Africa, reported a 24 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended December 2025 to $210 million over the same period a year earlier, and a 33 per cent rise in revenue to $1.6 billion in reported currency terms. The increase comes on the back of forex gains from currency appreciation and higher data revenues, which are the largest contributor to the carrier’s overall revenues.

 

“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,” Airtel Africa chief executive officer Sunil Taldar said in a statement.

 

 

For the nine-month period ended December 2025, the telco posted a 136 per cent jump in profit after tax to $586 million, up from $248 million in the same period last year. “Higher profit after tax in the current period was driven by higher operating profit and derivative and foreign exchange gains of $99 million, as compared to $153 million derivative and foreign exchange losses in the prior period,” the company said in a statement on Friday. During the nine-month period, revenue from operations grew 28.3 per cent on a reported currency basis to $4.6 billion as of December 2025, up from $3.6 billion in the three quarters ended December 2024.

 

The total customer base of Airtel Africa increased by 10 per cent to 179.4 million, with data customers of 81.8 million, growing 14.6 per cent. Smartphone penetration on the company’s network rose a further 3.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent, with data average revenue per user (ARPU) growing 16.6 per cent in constant currency as data usage per customer increased to 8.6 GB per month from 6.9 GB in the prior period.

 

“Mobile services revenue grew by 23.3 per cent in constant currency. Data revenues, the largest contributor to group revenues, increased 36.5 per cent, with voice revenues growing 13.5 per cent,” the telco said.

 

Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted that the results were better than expectations, driven by Nigeria, which continues to benefit from a stabilising operating environment and solid momentum across the business, as well as steadily improving margins. “Francophone Africa also saw good momentum. East Africa’s growth was more muted, including in mobile money, following some competitive intensity in the quarter alongside the temporary impact of an internet shutdown during the elections in Tanzania,” they said.

 

Analysts expect further improvement in metrics as capital expenditure investments continue to rise. “Management expects further improvement in margins for FY26. Third-quarter capex at $285 million grew 104 per cent year on year as the company raised FY guidance to $875 million–$900 million last quarter,” analysts at Citi said.