15. Intangible assets
The following table presents the reconciliation of changes in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets for the year ended 31 March 2025 and 2024:
Goodwill $m | Other intangible assets | Intangibles under development $m | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Software $m | Licences (including spectrum)1 $m | Others $m | Total $m | |||
1 The Group capitalises deferred spectrum license payments, for which the Group is under an obligation for payment till the expiry of the license period. Consequently, intangible assets are recognised at the present value of such payments with a corresponding liability. 2 Mainly consists of reversal of gross carrying value and accumulated depreciation on retirement of intangibles and reclassification from one category of asset to another. Also includes movement from intangible asset under development on capitalisation. 3 Opening hyperinflationary adjustment as at 1 April 2024 related to Malawi operations (refer to note 5(g)). | ||||||
Gross carrying value | ||||||
Balance as of 1 April 2023 | 3,516 | 3 | 1,217 | 37 | 1,257 | 399 |
Additions/capitalisation | – | 1 | 344 | 11 | 356 | 33 |
Disposals/adjustments2 | – | 4 | (1) | – | 3 | (356) |
Foreign currency translation impact | (947) | (0) | (604) | (1) | (605) | (72) |
Balance as of 31 March 2024 | 2,569 | 8 | 956 | 47 | 1,011 | 4 |
Opening hyperinflationary adjustment3 | 270 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
Additions/capitalisation | – | 3 | 206 | 12 | 221 | 225 |
Disposals/adjustments2 | – | (1) | (29) | 1 | (29) | (221) |
Foreign currency translation impact | (24) | (0) | (55) | (1) | (56) | (0) |
Hyperinflationary impact for the period | 193 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – |
Balance as of 31 March 2025 | 3,008 | 10 | 1,082 | 59 | 1,151 | 8 |
Accumulated amortisation | ||||||
Balance as of 1 April 2023 | – | 3 | 414 | 27 | 444 | – |
Charge | – | 2 | 103 | 7 | 112 | – |
Disposals/adjustments2 | – | – | (1) | 0 | (1) | – |
Foreign currency translation impact | – | (0) | (268) | (1) | (269) | – |
Balance as of 31 March 2024 | – | 5 | 248 | 33 | 286 | – |
Opening hyperinflationary adjustment3 | – | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
Charge | – | 2 | 97 | 10 | 109 | – |
Disposals/adjustments2 | – | – | (29) | 0 | (29) | – |
Foreign currency translation impact | – | (0) | (25) | (0) | (25) | – |
Hyperinflationary impact for the period | – | – | 0 | – | 0 | – |
Balance as of 31 March 2025 | – | 7 | 291 | 43 | 341 | – |
| ||||||
Net carrying value | ||||||
As of 1 April 2023 | 3,516 | – | 803 | 10 | 813 | 399 |
As of 31 March 2024 | 2,569 | 3 | 708 | 14 | 725 | 4 |
As of 31 March 2025 | 3,008 | 3 | 791 | 16 | 810 | 8 |
The weighted average remaining amortisation period of the Group’s licenses as of 31 March 2025 and 2024 is 9.62 years and 10.38 years, respectively.
Impairment review
The carrying amount of goodwill is attributed to the following groups of CGUs, which are also the Group’s operating segments:
As of | ||
|---|---|---|
31 March 2025 $m | 31 March 2024 $m | |
1 The increase of $439m in carrying amount of goodwill during the year is due to hyperinflationary adjustment related to Malawi operations ($463m) and foreign currency translation differences. Refer to note 5(c), 5(f) and 5(g). | ||
Nigeria mobile services | 269 | 318 |
East Africa mobile services | 1,086 | 834 |
Francophone Africa mobile services | 497 | 500 |
Mobile money services | 1,156 | 917 |
3,0081 | 2,569 | |
The Group tests goodwill for impairment annually on 31 December. The carrying value of goodwill as of 31 December 2024 was $269m, $1,044m, $489m and $1,113m for Nigeria mobile services, East Africa mobile services and Francophone Africa mobile services and Mobile money services, respectively. The recoverable amounts of the above group of CGUs are based on value-in-use, which are determined based on ten-year business plans that have been approved by the Board.
Whilst the Board performed a long-term viability assessment over a three-year period (refer to long-term viability statement), for the purposes of assessing liquidity, the Group has adopted a ten-year plan for the purpose of impairment testing due to the following reasons:
- The Group operates in emerging markets where the telecommunications and mobile money markets are underpenetrated when compared to developed markets. In these emerging markets, short-term plans (for example, five years) are not indicative of the long-term future prospects and performance of the Group.
- The life of the Group’s regulatory telecom licences and network assets are at an average of ten years, the spectrum renewals happen for a period of ten years or more and in general the replacement of technology happens after a similar duration, and
- The potential opportunities of the emerging African telecom and mobile money sectors, which is mostly a two-to-three player market with lower smartphone penetration.
Accordingly, the Board approved that this planning horizon reflects the assumptions for medium- to long-term market developments, appropriately covers market dynamics of emerging markets and better reflects the expected performance in the markets in which the Group operates.
While using the ten-year plan, the Group also considers external market data to support the assumptions used in such plans, which is generally available only for the first five years. Considering the degree of availability of external market data beyond year five, the Group has performed sensitivity analysis to assess the impact on impairment of using a five-year plan. The results of this sensitivity analysis demonstrate that the initial five-year plan with appropriate changes, including long-term growth rates applied at the end of this period does not result in any impairment and does not decrease the recoverable value by more than 4% in any of the group of CGUs as compared to the recoverable value using the ten-year plan. Further, the Group is confident that projections for years six to ten are reliable and can demonstrate its ability, based on past experience, to forecast cash flows accurately over a longer period. Accordingly, the Board has approved and the Group continues to follow a consistent policy of using an initial forecast period of ten years for the purpose of impairment testing.
The nominal cash flows used in the impairment tests reflect the Group’s current assessment of the impact of climate change and associated commitments the Group has made (refer to climate change disclosures). Based on the analysis conducted so far, the Group is satisfied that the impact of climate change does not lead to an impairment as of 31 December 2024 and is adequately covered as part of the sensitivities disclosed below.
The nominal cash flows beyond the planning period are extrapolated using appropriate long-term terminal growth rates. The long-term terminal growth rates used do not exceed the long-term average growth rates of the respective industry and country in which the entity operates and are consistent with internal/external sources of information.
The inputs used in performing the impairment assessment as of 31 December 2024 were as follows:
Assumptions | Nigeria | East Africa mobile services | Francophone Africa | Mobile money services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-tax discount rate | 30.88% | 20.86% | 21.65% | 22.53% |
Average Capital expenditure (as a percentage of revenue) | 9.68% | 12.94% | 11.85% | 2.95% |
Long-term growth rate | 13.30% | 8.94% | 6.69% | 8.49% |
As of 31 December 2024, the impairment testing did not result in any impairment in the carrying amount of goodwill in any group of CGUs.
The key assumptions in performing the impairment assessment are as follows:
Assumptions | Basis of assumptions |
|---|---|
Discount rate | Nominal discount rate reflects the market assessment of the risks specific to the group of CGUs and are estimated based on the weighted average cost of capital for respective CGUs. |
Capital expenditure | The cash flow forecasts of capital and spectrum licences expenditure are based on experience after considering the expenditure required to meet coverage, licence and capacity requirements relating to voice, data and mobile money services. |
Long-term growth rates | The growth rates into perpetuity used are in line with the nominal long-term average growth rates of the respective industry and country in which the entity operates and are consistent with the internal / external sources of information. |
As of 31 December 2024, the impairment testing did not result in any impairment in the carrying amount of goodwill in any group of CGUs. The results of the impairment tests using these rates show that the recoverable amount exceeds the carrying amount by $1,006m for Nigeria mobile services (38%), $3,126m for East Africa mobile services (91%), $1,249m for Francophone Africa mobile services (64%) and $4,941m for Mobile money (408%), respectively. The Group, therefore, concluded that no impairment was required to the goodwill held against each group of CGUs. Subsequent to December 2024, the Group has also performed indicator testing for impairment of goodwill and has concluded that there are no indicators of impairment.
Sensitivity in discount rate
Management believes that no reasonably possible change in any of the key assumptions would cause the difference between the carrying value and recoverable amount for any cash-generating unit to be materially different from the recoverable value in the base case. The table below sets out the breakeven pre-tax discount rate for each group of CGUs, which will result in the recoverable amount being equal with the carrying amount for each group of CGUs:
Nigeria | East Africa mobile services | Francophone Africa mobile services | Mobile money services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-tax discount rate | 37.03% | 31.66% | 30.37% | 75.18% |
No reasonably possible change in the terminal growth and capital expenditure rate would cause the carrying amount to exceed the recoverable amount.
Impairment assessment for the year ended 31 March 2024:
The inputs used in performing the impairment assessment as of 31 December 2023 were as follows:
Assumptions | Nigeria | East Africa mobile services | Francophone Africa mobile services | Mobile money services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-tax discount rate | 33.55% | 21.76% | 22.18% | 23.59% |
Capital expenditure range (as a percentage of revenue) | 5% – 18% | 12% – 28% | 10% – 15% | 2% – 5% |
Long-term growth rate | 11.00% | 7.74% | 6.81% | 7.79% |
As of 31 December 2023, the impairment testing did not result in any impairment in the carrying amount of goodwill in any group of CGUs.
The key assumptions in performing the impairment assessment are as follows:
Assumptions | Basis of assumptions |
|---|---|
Discount rate | Nominal discount rate reflects the market assessment of the risks specific to the group of CGUs and are estimated based on the weighted average cost of capital for respective CGUs. |
Capital expenditure | The cash flow forecasts of capital and spectrum licences expenditure are based on experience after considering the expenditure required to meet coverage, licence and capacity requirements relating to voice, data and mobile money services. |
Long-term growth rates | The growth rates into perpetuity used are in line with the nominal long-term average growth rates of the respective industry and country in which the entity operates and are consistent with the internal / external sources of information. |
As of 31 December 2023, the impairment testing did not result in any impairment in the carrying amount of goodwill in any group of CGUs. The results of the impairment tests using these rates show that the recoverable amount exceeds the carrying amount by $1,263m for Nigeria mobile services (76%), $2,211m for East Africa mobile services (92%), $994m for Francophone Africa mobile services (64%) and $3,410m for Mobile money (328%), respectively. The Group, therefore, concluded that no impairment was required to the goodwill held against each group of CGUs. Subsequent to December 2023, the Group has also performed indicator testing for impairment of goodwill and has concluded that there were no indicators of impairment (including on account of devaluation of Nigeria naira).
Sensitivity in discount rate
Management believes that no reasonably possible change in any of the key assumptions would have caused the difference between the carrying value and recoverable amount for any cash-generating unit to be materially different from the recoverable value in the base case. The table below sets out the breakeven pre-tax discount rate for each group of CGUs, which would have resulted in the recoverable amount being equal with the carrying amount for each group of CGUs:
Nigeria | East Africa mobile services | Francophone Africa | Mobile money services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-tax discount rate | 47.47% | 32.37% | 31.73% | 67.24% |
No reasonably possible change in the terminal growth and capital expenditure rate would cause the carrying amount to exceed the recoverable amount.