Airtel Africa made $452 million in profit after tax in the six months to 30 September, up from $376 million a year earlier, as revenue climbed 28.2% to $3.82 billion. Data and mobile money drove the growth, and Nigeria, the group's largest market, grew fastest of its regions in the second quarter, Nairametrics and TechMoran reported from the company's results.
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Airtel Nigeria now earns ₦3,771 a month from the average customer, about ₦800 more than a year ago, while its customers grew by 8 million.
The group numbers
| Measure | Six months to Sept 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.82 billion | Up 28.2% (20.8% in constant currency) |
| Profit after tax | $452 million | Up from $376 million |
| Underlying EBITDA margin | 50.3% | Up 1.7 points |
| Customers | 193.9 million | Up 11.6% |
| Data customers | 89.9 million | Up 15% |
| Mobile money customers | 60.9 million | Up 22.4% |
| Capital spending | $657 million | More than double |
Profit would have been higher without $56 million of one-off costs: $37 million to settle a commercial dispute at a subsidiary and $19 million tied to the London listing of Airtel Money, according to Nairametrics. Finance costs also rose to $477 million as the company paid more interest on leases for new network sites. The board declared an interim dividend of 3.1 US cents a share, up 9.2%.
Chief executive Sunil Taldar credited "operational discipline" for a record margin and said the company's confidence in growth is why it is speeding up investment.
What the results say about Nigeria
Airtel Africa's Nigerian figures, filed on the Nigerian Exchange and reported by Technext, show a business growing on almost every line:
| Airtel Nigeria | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₦941.2 billion | ₦1.37 trillion | Up 45% |
| Data revenue | ₦480.7 billion | ₦732.6 billion | Up 52.4% |
| Customers | 53.6 million | 61.7 million | Up 15.1% |
| Internet users | 29.5 million | 32.9 million | Up 11.5% |
| Average revenue per user, monthly | ₦2,969 | ₦3,771 | Up 27% |
Two things stand out. First, data now earns Airtel Nigeria more than half its revenue, and the gap with voice is widening. Second, the average customer pays about ₦800 more a month than a year ago. That rise reflects both higher prices and heavier use: across the group, a smartphone user now gets through 13.3GB of data a month, up from 10.1GB. About 51.6% of Airtel's customers across Africa now use a smartphone.
Mobile money is still small in Nigeria compared with East Africa. Airtel Nigeria's mobile money unit has about 4.2 million customers, Technext reports, against 60.9 million across the group.
Where the money is going
Capital spending more than doubled to $657 million, adding about 4,200 sites, partly for home broadband, TechMoran reported. For Nigerian subscribers, that is the number to watch. Airtel Nigeria drew 228,992 consumer complaints in the first half of 2026, more than MTN, Glo and T2mobile combined, according to NCC figures cited by Nairametrics, and the House of Representatives has summoned the chief executives of Airtel, MTN and Glo over poor service. Airtel can point to rising investment; customers will judge it by dropped calls and slow data.
Taldar said margins will keep depending on fuel prices and the wider economy. Diesel for generators at base stations is one of the largest costs for Nigerian operators, so any rise in pump prices or a weaker naira eats directly into these gains.
Airtel Money is now a listed company
These are the first results since Airtel Money listed on the London Stock Exchange on 14 October. The listing sold 270 million existing shares, 10% of the unit, at £1.96 each. Airtel Africa sold none of its own shares and keeps a 77.85% stake, Nairametrics reports. Across Africa, Airtel Money's revenue rose 25.8% in constant currency, with lending and other financial services up 56.9%, and active merchants up 85.5% to more than 587,000.
What it means for you
If you are an Airtel customer in Nigeria, the results explain your bill: the company is earning more from each line, mostly through data, and says it is spending that money on more sites and home broadband. Whether that reaches your area is the test, and with the most complaints of any operator this year, Airtel has the most to prove when lawmakers question it on service quality.
If you follow African tech stocks, Airtel is now a profitable, dividend-paying operator with a separately listed fintech, which gives investors a direct way to value its mobile money business for the first time.
Airtel Africa is making more money from every Nigerian customer and spending more than ever on its network. Customers will now expect the service to match the numbers.
