Africa’s Oldest Telecom Operator Sees Data Eclipse Voice as Revenue Climbs 33%

July 24, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Ethio Telecom reported revenue of 215.82 billion birr for the 2025/26 financial year, marking a 33.2 percent increase from the previous year as the state-owned operator’s digital services continued to reshape its income base. Its chief executive, Frehiwot Tamiru, joined by the company's senior management, presented the results at a press briefing at the Science Museum on Thursday, saying Ethio Telecom achieved 99.7 percent of its annual revenue target for the financial year ended June 30, 2026, driven by demand for connectivity, digital services and enterprise solutions.

Data and internet services became the company’s largest revenue source, accounting for 31.1 percent of total revenue, while mobile voice contributed 23.5 percent. Value-added services and international services accounted for 9.1 percent and 8 percent respectively, with enterprise solutions contributing 7.1 percent. The shift marks a change from the company’s traditional reliance on voice services. Ethio Telecom said data revenue has surpassed voice as the leading revenue stream, reflecting increased adoption of digital services.

The operator’s profitability also strengthened during the year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 51.9 percent to 38.7 billion birr, while operating profit rose by 47.5 percent, or 30 billion birr, compared with the previous year. Ethio Telecom attributed the improvement to revenue growth, cost efficiency and financial discipline. Its cost optimisation programme, known as Do2Save, generated 14.61 billion birr in efficiency gains during the year, with 96 percent coming from cost optimisation initiatives and four percent from revenue enhancement measures.

The company’s customer base expanded to 90.12 million, exceeding its annual target of 88.63 million and representing 8.3 percent year-on-year growth. Active mobile subscribers reached 72.09 million, while mobile data users increased 10.7 percent to 51.53 million. Fixed broadband customers reached one million during the year, bringing total data and internet users to 52.5 million.

The company’s mobile financial services platform, telebirr, continued to expand. The platform recorded 60.6 million registered customers, processed 2.61 billion transactions and handled 4.19 trillion birr in transaction value during the financial year. Digital lending through telebirr reached 19.51 billion birr disbursed to 5.65 million customers, while digital savings reached 18.75 billion birr from 1.3 million customers. Ethio Telecom’s total assets increased to 420 billion birr, representing 27 percent growth, supported by investments in network infrastructure, technology assets and digital capabilities.

Source: FSX Business News