Telecoms company Airtel Nigeria has recorded $699 million total revenue in the half year ending September 30, 2025. This represents a 46.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase based on reported currency change.
According to the company’s financial statement made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the revenue was driven by increased demand for data services. The full-period impact of tariff adjustments also influenced its performance.
Customer Growth and Data Services
The company recorded a 9.9% increase in total customers, now standing at 53.6 million users, up from 48.7 million in September 2024. This subscriber base positions Airtel Nigeria as the second-largest mobile network operator in Nigeria, following MTN Nigeria. During the same period, its internet subscribers grew by 12.2% YoY to 29.5 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) improved by 64.7% in naira and 71.9% in foreign currency, reaching $393 million. The company attributed the difference in constant and reported currency revenue growth to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira.
The company stated, "The EBITDA margin increased 760 basis points to 56.3%, driven by the strong revenue growth and continued benefits arising from the cost efficiency programme. The strong margin performance was also supported by stable fuel prices and more favourable operating conditions."
Operating free cash flow increased by 107.2% to $319 million, contributing to the EBITDA growth. Operating free cash flow also saw an increase of 95.0%.
Revenue Breakdown
Airtel Nigeria’s voice revenue grew by 34.7% to $268 million, driven by a 25.7% growth in voice average revenue per user (ARPU). Its data revenue experienced a substantial increase of 62.4%, rising to $357 million from $229 million. This surge was fueled by the growth in data customers and an increase in data ARPU by 12.2% and 46.6%, respectively.
Reported smartphone penetration is on the rise, with smartphone users increasing by 4.2% to reach 52.8% by September 2025. This growth is attributed to an increase in data usage per customer by 24.9%, reaching 10.1 GB per month from 8.1 GB in the prior period.
The average smartphone data usage per customer reached 12.7 GB monthly, compared to 10.9 GB as of September 2024.
Mobile Money Performance
Airtel Mobile Money (Smartcash Psb) continues to experience slower growth in Nigeria compared to other regions. This is attributed to the high competition in the Nigerian mobile money market from players such as Moniepoint, OPay, Kuda, and Palmpay, along with other fintech companies.
In its report, Airtel Nigeria indicated a 46.1% YoY increase in its mobile money customer base, growing from 1.4 million to 2 million. This figure remains low when compared to 38.9 million customers in its East African region and 8.9 million in Francophone Africa.
Its mobile money revenue saw a significant jump from $2 million to $4 million in September 2025. This represents a 149.2% increase in constant currency change and a 136.4% increase in reported currency change. Notably, this revenue constitutes only a 0.64% share of Airtel Africa’s total $623 million for the period.
In comparison, Francophone Africa recorded $153 million in revenue (a 24.36% share), while East Africa generated $466 million (a 75% share).
Quarterly Performance
For the third quarter ending September 2025, Airtel Nigeria reported a total revenue of $366 million, marking a 49.5% YoY increase.
A further breakdown shows $135 million in revenue from voice services, $192 million from data services, and $2 million from mobile money. Other revenue streams contributed $39 million, with an EBITDA margin of 56.5%.