Airtel Africa, a telecom and mobile money operator with operations in 14 African countries, reported a 24.9% rise in constant currency revenue for the quarter ending June 2025, reaching $1.42 billion. The growth was driven by a 47.4% increase in data usage and continued expansion in its mobile financial services segment.

The company’s customer base rose 9% year-on-year to 169.4 million, with data subscribers growing 17.4% to 75.6 million. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for data services climbed 18.5% in constant currency, supported by a 4.3 percentage point increase in smartphone penetration to 45.9%.

Airtel’s mobile money platform, Airtel Money, recorded a 16.1% increase in customers to 45.8 million, while the annualized transaction value grew 35% to $162 billion. The company continues to broaden its digital financial services, citing rising usage across payment and remittance categories.

Network investments during the quarter included 2,300 new sites and the rollout of an additional 2,700 kilometers of fiber infrastructure. Airtel Africa said 4G network coverage expanded to 74.7%, up from 71.3% a year earlier. These upgrades supported a 38.1% increase in data revenue and a 23.8% rise in mobile services revenue.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 29.8% to $679 million, with EBITDA margin improving to 48.0% from 45.3%, attributed to scale efficiencies and cost control.

Net profit rose to $156 million, compared to $31 million in the same period last year, partly supported by a $22 million gain from currency appreciation. Basic earnings per share increased to 3.4 cents, up from 0.2 cents. Capital expenditure for the quarter stood at $121 million, with full-year investment guidance remaining unchanged at $725 million to $750 million.

The company said it returned $16.9 million to shareholders as part of a $55 million share buyback program.

In a statement, CEO Sunil Taldar said the company remains focused on improving customer experience and expanding access to connectivity and mobile finance. New offerings include an AI-based spam alert system aimed at reducing fraudulent messaging.