Airtel Africa reports $1.7b operational loss from Nigeria, Malawi

Financial setbacks in key markets including Nigeria, and Malawi have resulted in Airtel Africa’s loss of $1.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

The loss came despite a 20.9 per cent growth in service revenues in constant currency.

Airtel in the financial statement, released Thursday, noted that it witnessed a decline in group revenue by 5.3 per cent to $4,979 million, and a 5.7 per cent drop in EBITDA to $2,428 million. These figures primarily reflect the severe impact of the Nigerian Naira and Malawian Kwacha’s devaluation against the U.S dollar.

In the report, Airtel said the Nigerian Naira devalued drastically from 461 to 1,303 per U.S dollar during the year, which deeply affected its financial outcomes. The devaluation led to a loss of $1,042 million in reported revenue and a $554 million decrease in EBITDA for the company.

Finance costs soared to $1,703 million, significantly influenced by $1,259 million in losses from derivatives and foreign exchange revaluations, of which $770 million was due to the Naira’s devaluation.

Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, highlighted the effectiveness of the company’s strategic approach in mitigating the adverse effects of currency fluctuations and driving revenue growth.

“The consistent deployment of our ‘Win with’ strategy supported the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth over the recent quarters which have reduced the impact of currency headwinds faced across most of our markets.

“This strong revenue performance is a reflection not only of the opportunity that is inherent across our markets, but also the resilience of our affordable offerings despite the inflationary pressure many of our customers have experienced.”