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Airtel customer base experienced an 8.6% growth, reaching 155.4 million. Data customer penetration continues to rise, resulting in a 13.4% increase in data customers, bringing the total to 64.4 million. Data usage per customer saw a significant 25.1% increase, reaching 6.2 GBs, while smartphone penetration grew by 4.7%, reaching 41.7%.
Its commitment to expanding distribution channels for mobile money services yielded a 14.9% growth in mobile money subscribers, supporting increased financial inclusion across our markets. Transaction value increased by 28.7% in constant currency, with an annualized transaction value of $120 billion in reported currency.
Data ARPU growth of 9.6% and mobile money ARPU growth of 8.8% in constant currency continued to contribute to the overall ARPU, which increased by 9.3% year-over-year.
The company's strategic objectives are centered around enhancing customer experience, which is achieved through continuous network investments to improve capacity and coverage. The data capacity of its network has seen a significant increase of 33%, thanks to the deployment of around 3,000 sites and the installation of over 5,600 kilometers of fiber optic cables.
In addition, Airtel launched a thorough cost efficiency program to pinpoint opportunities for reducing costs across the Group. This program involves optimizing network utilization and design, implementing energy-saving initiatives to lower network expenses, and renegotiating key contracts, all while safeguarding its future growth plans. "We expect to see the full benefits of this program materialize in the upcoming year."
Financial performance
In Q1’24, revenue in constant currency increased by 19.0%, with Nigeria and East Africa experiencing growth rates of 33.4% and 22.3% respectively. However, reported currency revenues dropped by 16.1% to $1,156m due to currency devaluation, especially in Nigeria. Mobile services revenue across the Group grew by 17.4%, while Mobile Money revenue increased by 28.4% in constant currency.
The decline in EBITDA margins to 45.3% from 49.5% in Q1’24 and 46.5% in Q4’24 was influenced by higher fuel prices in our markets and Nigeria's reduced contribution after the naira devaluation. Nevertheless, constant currency EBITDA rose by 11.3%, while reported currency EBITDA fell by 23.3% to $523m.
Profit after tax of $31m was impacted by $80m of exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses (net of tax) due to the further depreciation of the Nigerian naira during the quarter.
The primary reason for the decline in EPS before exceptional items from 3.9 cents to 2.3 cents was the translation impact of currency devaluation on reported currency results. Basic EPS of 0.2 cents, compared to negative (4.5 cents) in the prior period, mainly reflects the exceptional derivative and foreign exchange losses of $471m in the prior period, as opposed to $122m in the current period.
Capital allocation
The capital expenditure amounted to $147 million, representing a 4.9% increase from the previous period. Despite this increase, the capital expenditure guidance for the entire year remains within the range of $725 million and $750 million as we continue to make strategic investments for future growth.
In accordance with its plan, the company have successfully eliminated all debt at the holding company level following the complete repayment of the $550 million bond in May 2024. Notably, 86% of its market debt is now denominated in local currency, reflecting our proactive efforts in reducing foreign currency debt by $828 million over the past year.
As of June 30, 2024, its leverage ratio stood at 1.6x, compared to 1.3x in the previous period. This increase of 0.3x can be attributed to two primary factors: a 0.2x decrease in reported currency EBITDA and an increase in lease liabilities.
According to the report made available to us, Airtel statad that,"we are continuing with our $100 million share buyback program, with 21 million shares repurchased at a cost of $29 million as of the end of June 2024."
Sustainability strategy
The Sustainability Report for the year 2024 was released in June, providing an update on the Group's advancement towards its sustainability objectives, its ongoing contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and its unwavering commitment to sustainability, which serves as the foundation of the Group's business strategy.
In reference to the most recent trading update, Sunil Taldar, the Chief Executive Officer, made the following statement:
“The continued revenue growth momentum once again reflects the resilient demand for our services, with sustained growth in our customer base and usage. Our superior execution enables us to capture these opportunities, whilst retaining our reputation as a cost leader across the industry.
Having visited most of our OpCos since I joined Airtel Africa, I am encouraged by the scale of the opportunity available across our markets in both the GSM and mobile money business. A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business especially in the enterprise, fibre and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa.
We will build on the strong foundation established over many years to deliver on these new business opportunities. Most importantly, our emphasis is on significantly improving customer experience by simplifying customer journeys and providing best in class network experience to our customers, whilst remaining focused on driving efficiencies across the business.
We have initiated a comprehensive cost optimisation programme across the Group. We have already seen success in this project, with savings arising in network and distribution costs, and continued opportunities as contract renegotiations continue. We expect sustainable savings to continue as the year progresses.
A strong capital structure is critical to enabling these ambitions and future proofing our ambitious growth targets. During the quarter, we fully repaid the outstanding debt due at the HoldCo and we remain committed to further reduce foreign currency exposure across the Group to limit the impact of currency devaluation on our business. The growth opportunity across our markets remains compelling and we continue to focus on margin improvement as indicated in our FY’24 results.”