Airtel Africa Plc reported a quarterly pre-tax profit on Friday that more than doubled, as the telecom company signed up more customers for its mobile and data services.
The company’s pre-tax profit for the first quarter rose to $167.4 million from $80.2 million a year ago, boosted by a 9.3 per cent rise in its customer base.
Airtel Africa, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd debuted on the London Stock Exchange last month
This is the company’s first financial results after it raised $750 million through its initial public offering (IPO) last month. The shares were then priced at 80 pence per share, giving it a market capitalization of around $3.9 billion.
It posted revenue of $795.9 million in the June quarter, up 6.9% year-on-year, largely driven by double-digit growth in Nigeria and East Africa, and partially offset by a decline in revenue in the rest of Africa, the company said.
Airtel Africa, the holding firm for Bharti Airtel’s operations in 14 countries in the continent, has 99 million customers across three regions—Nigeria; East Africa, comprising Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia; and the rest of Africa, which comprises Niger, Gabon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Seychelles. Nigeria alone accounts for half of its Ebitda and 40% of its total revenue.
