Airtel Africa pushes Airtel Money IPO to H2 2026 amid West Asia crisis

Airtel Africa profits up 147%, ARPU up xx%; Capex for FY27 at $1.1 bn

Taldar noted Airtel Money’s strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion, and product innovation | Image: Bloomberg

BS Reporter

Listen to This Article

Airtel Africa will undertake the public listing of Airtel Money by the second half of 2026, later than the earlier timeline of the first half of 2026, the African arm of India’s second-largest carrier Bharti Airtel said in a statement on Friday while reporting its quarterly and full-year results.

“Market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the anticipated timing of the Airtel Money IPO. We have made good progress and remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow, with the intention of undertaking the IPO in the second half of 2026,” Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said.

Taldar noted Airtel Money’s strong progress across digital adoption, ecosystem expansion, and product innovation. Airtel Money's customer base increased by 21.3 per cent year-on-year to 54.1 million, and transacting customers increased by 74 per cent in FY26. Its annualised total processed value grew by 49 per cent to over $215 billion in reported currency in Q4FY26.

Bloomberg reported last month that the group was planning a $1.5-2 billion IPO of the company’s mobile money business under Airtel Money, which has seen substantial growth in the last few years. Airtel has stated its intention in the past to list the business.

Operating in 14 African countries, Airtel Africa’s profit rose 147.4 per cent to $813 million for FY26, compared to $328 million in FY25. It recorded revenues of $6.4 billion, which also grew 29.5 per cent year-on-year in the same period. Profits were driven mainly by tariff adjustments in Nigeria and forex gains of $127 million, compared to derivative and foreign exchange losses of $179 million in the prior period, the company said. Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose 17.8 per cent to $3.1 from $2.6 in the previous year.

“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. This backdrop, and the continued success of our strategy, contributed to our highest level of customer additions, revenue and EBITDA growth,” Taldar added.

Operating free cash flow increased by 39.4 per cent to $2.2 billion. EBITDA rose by 37.2 per cent to $3.1 billion.

The company added that adoption of new digital technologies and AI had been pivotal in unlocking growth opportunities and driving efficiencies, with wide-ranging rollouts enhancing customer experience through site-level network optimisation, streamlined onboarding, and accelerating the rollout of the myAirtel app. This strategy has contributed to a further 22 per cent increase in smartphone customers to 91 million, driving an almost 50 per cent increase in data traffic. Airtel Africa’s total customer base increased by 10.5 per cent to 183.5 million for the year, the highest net additions to date.

The mobile services segment grew by 22.6 per cent to $5.3 billion. Data revenues, the largest component of group revenues, rose 35.2 per cent to $2.5 billion.

Airtel Africa's capex for the year increased by 31.9 per cent to $884 million. For FY27, the company plans to scale up capex to $1.1 billion, which will lead to accelerated investment to expand coverage and capacity. Investments will also flow into home broadband (HBB) and data centres.