Airtel Africa raises dividend as operating profit rises

(Alliance News) - Airtel Africa PLC on Monday hailed a higher operational profit amid increased revenue, while statutory profit fell after the Nigerian naira devalued sharply in June.

The London-based, Africa-focused telecommunications company said in the six months to September 30, operating profit rose 1.5% to USD885 million from USD872 million a year ago. Earnings per share before exceptional items improved 3.2% to 7.0 US cents from 6.8 cents a year prior.

Statutory pretax profit however plummeted to USD12 million from USD516 million.

Revenue climbed 2.3% to USD2.62 billion from USD2.57 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 3.7% to USD1.30 billion from USD1.26 billion, while Ebitda was 21% higher at constant currency.

The company noted the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June. As of Monday morning in London, the dollar bought NGN789.04, up 70% from NGN465.50 on June 16. On June 17 alone, the dollar had jumped to NGN656.51, up 41% against the Nigerian currency.

The Nigerian naira had plunged after President Bola Tinubu removed Nigeria's foreign currency controls.

Airtel Africa highlighted that its customer base increased by 9.7% to 147.7 million from 134.7 million a year ago.

The company declared an interim dividend of 2.38 US cents per share, up 9.2% from 2.18 cents a year prior.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive Officer Olusegun Ogunsanya said: "The delivery of affordable and reliable telecom and mobile money services across our markets remains our key focus. Our strong operating performance continues to make us a stronger and bigger company, which is well positioned to deliver against the growth opportunities these markets offer. Despite the challenges of rising diesel prices in Nigeria, we aim to limit the impact with continued operational leverage and further cost efficiencies to deliver an improved Ebitda margin in FY24 versus FY23."

Airtel Africa shares were up 8.3% to 118.90 pence each on Monday morning in London.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter

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