Airtel Africa reports $328m PAT for fy March 31, 2025

Airtel Africa reported a profit after tax of $328m for the year ended March 31, 2025, rebounding from a $89m loss the
previous year due to derivative and FX losses primarily from their Nigerian operations. The recovery was driven by a
3.9% q/q revenue growth in Q4 2025, supported by an 8.8% y/y increase in the customer base. Although full-year
revenue dipped slightly by 0.5% y/y, Q4 2025 revenue surged 17.8% compared to Q4 2024, reflecting improved
currency stability. Reported growth, however, was dampened by sharp currency devaluations in Nigeria, Malawi, and
Zambia — notably, the Naira which weakened from NGN/USD781 to NGN/USD1,531.

The company reported an EBITDA of $2.30bn for FY2025, representing a 5.1% decline in reported currency terms,
primarily reflecting the adverse impact of currency devaluations, most notably in Nigeria. The EBITDA margin narrowed
slightly to 46.5%, down from 48.8% in the prior year, largely due to higher fuel costs and a reduced contribution from
the Nigerian operations. Encouragingly, underlying EBITDA margins improved steadily over the year, rising from 45.3%
in Q1 2025 to 47.3% in Q4 2025. This improvement was driven by a more stable operating environment in its primary
markets and the positive effects of Airtel Africa’s ongoing cost efficiency initiatives.

Compared to the same quarter in 2024, finance costs increased by 55.6% y/y, due to tower contract renewals and a
strategic shift from foreign currency to higher interest paying local debt over the year. This higher financing burden,
combined with a 24.5% y/y rise in the effective tax rate, led to a 10.7% decline in PBT for the period, despite underlying
operational resilience.

The deferral of planned data centre investments led to a CAPEX decline of 9.1% y/y and 52.9% q/q. For FY2026,
CAPEX guidance has been set between $725m and $750m as the company continues to invest in future growth.
In terms of debt, $550 million of Holding Company debt was fully repaid in May 2024 while the share of local currency
Operating company debt (excluding leases) rose to 93% from 83% y/y. In total, $702 million of US Dollar denominated
debt was repaid during the year. Leverage rose from 1.4x to 2.3x, driven by tower contract renewals and lower reported
EBITDA due to the Naira devaluation.

The Board has proposed a final dividend of 3.9cents per share for FY2025, to be paid on 25th July 2025 to shareholders
on record as of 20th June 2025.

Airtel Africa’s FY2025 performance can be best described as one of a strong rebound from the prior year’s loss. Solid
customer growth, improving underlying EBITDA margins, and disciplined cost management highlights the Company’s
operational strength. While elevated finance costs and a higher tax burden weighed on profitability, the repayment of
$702 million in USD denominated debt and the deliberate shift toward local currency funding have put the company on
a more solid financial footing for the future. Looking ahead, Airtel Africa is expected to capitalise on growth

opportunities, particularly in expanding its data and digital infrastructure given its robust planned Capex for FY2026.
Continued focus on cost efficiency and navigating currency volatility will be key to sustaining earnings momentum in
FY2026