Airtel Africa posts record FY2026 results as East Africa powers growth

Airtel Africa has posted its strongest financial performance to date for the financial year ended 2026, driven by surging demand for data services, rapid growth in mobile money adoption and expanding smartphone usage across Africa, with East Africa emerging as one of the company’s key growth engines.

The telecommunications giant reported constant currency revenue growth of 24 percent, the highest in its history, while reported revenues rose 29.5 percent to 6.415 billion US dollars, up from 4.955 billion dollars in FY2025.

Underlying EBITDA climbed to 3.162 billion dollars, representing a 37.2 percent increase in reported currency, as EBITDA margins improved to 49.3 percent and surpassed the 50 percent mark during the final quarter of the year. Profit after tax more than doubled to 813 million dollars, compared to 328 million dollars in the previous financial year.

East Africa, including Uganda, played a central role in the company’s growth trajectory. The region generated 2.192 billion dollars in revenue, marking an 18.9 percent increase in reported currency and 13.8 percent growth in constant currency. Airtel Africa’s customer base in the region also expanded by 8.7 percent to 84.3 million subscribers.

Uganda was among the markets that contributed positively to reported revenue growth due to the appreciation of the Ugandan shilling against the US dollar during the year.

The region’s appetite for digital connectivity continued to accelerate, with data customers in East Africa increasing by 15.7 percent to 36.5 million users. Data traffic across the network surged by more than 50 percent, while smartphone penetration reached 46.6 percent. Average customer data consumption rose 28 percent year on year to 8.0 GB per month.

Airtel Africa also continued expanding next generation connectivity across the region, with more than 2,200 network sites now 5G enabled across five key East African markets.

The company’s mobile financial services business, Airtel Money, remained one of its fastest growing segments. Airtel Money subscribers increased by 21.3 percent to 54.1 million customers across the group, reinforcing the platform’s growing importance in driving financial inclusion across underserved communities.

In one of the year’s most notable developments, Airtel Africa announced a landmark partnership with SpaceX in December 2025, becoming the first mobile operator in Africa to collaborate on Starlink Direct to Cell satellite connectivity. The initiative aims to extend mobile coverage to remote and underserved areas across Airtel Africa’s 14 markets.

The company also deepened regional collaboration efforts through network sharing agreements with MTN Group in Uganda and Nigeria, announced in March 2025. Airtel Africa says the partnerships will help lower infrastructure costs while improving network reach and service delivery.

With 183.5 million customers across Africa, Airtel Africa says it is entering FY2027 with strong momentum, backed by rising digital adoption, growing demand for financial technology services and continued investment in network expansion.

Speaking on the results, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar credited the company’s focused strategy and investment in digital innovation for the record performance.

“This year delivered a very strong performance across both operating and financial metrics, reflecting the attractive industry fundamentals and structural growth drivers across our footprint,” Taldar said.

“Adoption of new digital technologies and AI has been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site level network optimization, streamlined onboarding and more intuitive digital journeys enabling greater personalization.”

He added that Airtel Africa recorded a 22 percent increase in smartphone customers to 91 million users, helping drive nearly 50 percent growth in data traffic and supporting the company’s record revenue growth.

As competition intensifies in Africa’s digital economy, Airtel Africa’s latest results underline the growing importance of East Africa, particularly Uganda, as a strategic market for telecom innovation, digital finance and next generation connectivity.