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(Alliance News) - Airtel Africa PLC on Thursday reported a decline in nine-month profit despite growth in its customer base and revenue, as expenses increased and net finance costs jumped.
Airtel Africa is a London-based, Africa-focused telecommunications company.
Pretax profit in the nine months to December 31 fell by 7.3% to USD801 million from USD864 million a year before. Revenue rose 12% to USD3.91 billion from USD3.49 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 13% to USD1.92 billion from USD1.70 billion.
However, expenses increased by 12% to USD2.00 billion from USD1.80 billion. Net finance costs jumped 78% to USD519 million from USD291 million.
Airtel Africa noted that some voice customers were barred in Nigeria during the last period and that "the loss of tower sharing revenues following the sale of towers in Tanzania, Madagascar and Malawi in H2 2022" had a negative impact on revenue as well.
Airtel sold its telecommunications tower company in Malawi to Helios Tower for USD54.7 million in March last year. Airtel's financial year ends on March 31.
The company said its customer base grew by 13% in the nine months to 47.8 million from 42.4 million customers, driven by mobile data and mobile money services. It noted that annualised transaction value grew by 37% to almost USD100 billion in the third quarter of financial year 2023.
Looking ahead, Airtel said: "In terms of outlook, long-term opportunities for us remain attractive. Whilst mindful of currency devaluation and repatriation risks, we continue to work actively to mitigate all our material risks and deliver value for all our stakeholders."
Airtel Africa shares fell 5.5% to 109.93 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter
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