Airtel Africa plc Q2’23 results

Highlights

• Total customer base increased to 134.7 million, up 9.7%, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 10.6%) and mobile money services (customer base up 24.0%).
• ARPU growth of 7.2% in constant currency, largely driven by increased usage across voice, data and mobile money.
• Mobile money transaction value increased by 31.7%, to an annualized value of $86.1bn in Q2’23.
• Reported revenue grew by 12.9% in the half, to $2,565m, and 12.7% for Q2’23. Constant currency growth rate accelerated to 18.5% in Q2, supporting half year growth of 16.9%.
• Strong revenue growth in constant currency was posted across all four reporting segments. Mobile Services revenue in Nigeria grew by 19.7%, in East Africa by 12.4% and in Francophone Africa by 12.1% (and across the Group by 15.6%, with voice revenue up by 12.0% and data revenue up by 22.1%). Mobile Money revenue grew by 29.5%, driven by growth of 31.5% in East Africa and 23.6% in Francophone Africa.
• EBITDA increased by 14.3% to $1,255m in reported currency and by 17.8% in constant currency, with an EBITDA margin of 48.9%, an increase of 60 basis points in reported currency and 38 basis points in constant currency.
• Profit after tax was $330m, lower by 1.5% due to higher foreign exchange and derivative losses of $160m. Profit after tax excluding foreign exchange and derivative losses was up by 30.4%.
• EPS before exceptional items was 6.8 cents, a reduction of 9.5% largely as a result of higher foreign exchange and derivative losses of $160m. Basic EPS increased to 7.9 cents (up by 3.7%) as a result of deferred tax asset recognition in Kenya.
• The board has declared an interim dividend of 2.18 cents per share (2 cents in H1’22).
• In July 2022, the Group prepaid $450m of outstanding external debt at HoldCo. The remaining debt at HoldCo is now $550m, falling due in May 2024. The leverage ratio has fallen to 1.3x from 1.5x in the prior period.
• Capex increased by 26.9% to $310m, in line with our guidance, as we continue to invest for future growth. Additionally, we acquired spectrum in key markets including DRC and Kenya.
• Inaugural sustainability report published today, reflecting the Group’s commitment to documenting progress against its long-term sustainability strategy launched in October 2021.

Airtel Africa plc results for half year ended 30 September 2022 are unaudited and in the opinion of management, include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the results of the same period. The financial information in this press release has been drawn from interim financial statements prepared based on International Accounting Standard 34 (IAS 34) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) approved for use in the UK by the UK Accounting Standards Endorsement Board (UKEB) and apply the same accounting policies, presentation and methods of calculation as those followed in the preparation of the Group’s annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 except to the extent required/ prescribed by IAS 34. The Group’s auditors provide an independent review report on such interim financial statements (as reproduced on page 48 of this press release). This report should be read in conjunction with audited annual consolidated financial statements and related notes for the year ended 31 March 2022. Comparative annual information has been drawn based on Airtel Africa plc’s Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022; with quarterly and half yearly information drawn from the unaudited IAS 34 financials of the respective periods. The Group’s auditors provided an independent review report on such half-yearly interim financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2021. All comparatives and references to the ‘prior period’ or ‘previous period’ in this report are for the reported metrics for the half year ended 30 September 2021 unless otherwise stated.

CT Bureau