Our KPIs give the Board and management a clear sense of where we are and where we need to improve.
Measuring the success of our strategy
We monitor the success of our strategy through operational, financial and non-financial key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs give us a crucial insight into our business performance and the progress being made towards our strategic intent.
Our selected KPIs help us to communicate the Group’s strategy across all levels of the organisation and form part of our governance and performance management processes.
Ensuring our KPIs are meaningful and responsive
We review our KPIs regularly to ensure that they’re aligned with our strategy and organisational goals.
Furthermore, our non-financial KPIs linked to our sustainability strategy are scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, energy consumption, population coverage and gender balance.
Linkage with remuneration
We review our remuneration-linked KPIs every year to ensure these are relevant to our business strategy. Our remuneration targets are linked to selected financial and operational KPIs. As part of our long-term incentive scheme, we also benchmark our total shareholder return performance with a peer group of companies.
Financial KPIs
GAAP KPIs
Revenue
$6,415m
reported currency +29.5%
constant currency +24.0%
$4,955m in 2024/25
Operating profit*
$2,115m
+45.1%
$1,457m in 2024/25
Profit after tax*
$813m
+147.4%
$328m in 2024/25
Net cash generated from operating activities*
$3,195m
+41.0%
$2,266m in 2024/25
Basic earnings per share
18.6 cents
+212.2%
6.0 cents in 2024/25
APM KPIs
Underlying EBITDA and margin
$3,162m
reported currency +37.2%
constant currency +30.4%
margin 49.3%
$2,304m, margin 46.5% in 2024/25
Operating free cash flow*
$2,278m
+39.4%
$1,634m in 2024/25
Leverage
1.8x
2.3x in 2024/25
Lease-adjusted leverage
0.5x
1.0x in 2024/25
Return on capital employed
23.1%
+355 bps
19.6% in 2024/25
* Growth percentage is in reported currency.
Operational KPIs – mobile services
Total sites and fibre (km)
Performance
During the reporting year, we deployed more than 3,250 sites, reaching 40,378 sites in total as of 31 March 2026. We added 3,600+ sites on 4G and now 98.5% of our total sites are enabled for 4G. 5G is operational across six markets, with over 3,100 sites deployed. We also added around 3,200 km of fibre, reaching 81,882 km of fibre as of 31 March 2026.
Customer base and smartphone penetration
Performance
Our overall customer base grew by 10.5% to 183.5 million as of 31 March 2026. We continue investing in networks to expand our reach along with the expansion of distribution infrastructure to drive customer base growth in both urban and rural markets.
The Group’s differentiated product offerings, supported by a world‑class network experience, drove strong growth in the smartphone customer base, which increased by 22.0% – outpacing overall customer growth – to reach 90.8 million. Smartphone penetration improved by 4.7% to 49.5% as of 31 March 2026.
Voice traffic and usage per customer
Performance
Our voice traffic grew by 5.3% to 601 billion minutes during the reporting period, driven by customer base growth of 10.5% partially offset by decline in voice usage per customer by 4.2% to 287 minutes per customer per month.
The slowdown in voice usage per customer is primarily driven by a shift from traditional voice calls to internet‑based calling services.
Our continued investment in sales and distribution infrastructure as well as network coverage, along with sustained demand for voice services, contributed to the growth in voice traffic.
Voice revenue and voice ARPU
Performance
In reported currency, voice revenue grew by 18.0% to $2,318m with voice ARPU growing by 7.3% in the current period to reach $1.1.
In constant currency, voice revenue grew by 12.8%, driven by both customer base growth of 10.5% and voice ARPU growth of 2.6%. The voice ARPU growth was partly supported by tariff adjustments in Nigeria.
Higher reported currency growth was a result of currency appreciation in most of the operating markets in the current period, notably in Nigeria, our largest market.
Data customers and penetration
Performance
Our data customer base increased by 14.8% to 84.2 million as of 31 March 2026 and now comprises 45.9% of our total customer base compared to 44.2% in the prior period. Data customer base growth was driven by an expansion of our data network, an increase in network data capacity and the increased number of smartphones on our network. The 4G/5G smartphone customer base reached 63.8 million, a growth of 27.4%, and contributes to 75.8% of our total data customer base (compared to 68.3% in the prior period). Out of the total smartphones on our network, 89.7% are 4G/5G-enabled (compared with 83.1% in the prior period).
Data usage and data usage per customer
Performance
Total data usage increased by 48.5% to 8,414 million GBs led by both customer base growth of 14.8% and an increase in data usage per customer of 27.7%. During the reporting period, 4G and 5G smartphone data usage contributed to 96.7% of total data usage, up from 91.1% in the prior period. Data usage per customer increased to 8.9 GB per month (up from 7.0 GB per customer per month) while smartphone data usage per customer increased to 10.9 GB per month (from 8.8 GB per month). The increase in data usage per customer was led by an increase in smartphone penetration, the increased density of our 4G and 5G network and faster rollout of home broadband (HBB) services.
Data revenue and data ARPU
Performance
In reported currency, data revenue grew by 40.3% to $2,530m with data ARPU increasing by 20.6%, reaching $2.7 in the current period. The growth in data ARPU was supported by sustained demand for data services in our markets, partly supported by Nigeria tariff adjustments.
In constant currency, data revenue grew by 35.2%, led by both customer base growth of 14.8% and data ARPU growth of 16.2%. Data ARPU growth was driven by an increase in data usage per customer per month mainly due to higher smartphone adoption and faster rollout of our 4G, 5G network and home broadband (HBB) services.
Mobile services revenue and ARPU
Performance
In reported currency, mobile services revenue grew by 27.6% to $5,350m and mobile services ARPU increased from $2.2 to $2.6, driven by an increase in both voice and data services and supported by currency appreciation in most markets during the reporting period.
In constant currency, mobile services revenue grew by 22.6%, with growth being recorded across all regions and services: Nigeria – up by 47.4%, driven by strong operating performance further supported by tariff adjustments; East Africa – up by 13.8%; and Francophone Africa – up by 14.8%. In Francophone Africa, growth improved significantly from 7.9% reported in 2024/25. Mobile services revenue growth was driven by both voice and data services: voice revenue grew by 12.8% and data revenue grew by 35.2%. Mobile services ARPU was $2.6 per customer per month, up by 11.6% in constant currency.
Growth percentages in KPIs are in constant currency unless specified. ARPU (CC) is in 2025/26 constant currency for all reported periods.
Operational KPIs – mobile money
Mobile money agents
Performance
The number of active agents in our network increased by 664,000, reaching a total of 2.4 million, driven by an improved digitised agent onboarding process. By strengthening our distribution, we expand access to our services, reinforcing our market presence and extending customer reach.
Mobile money customer base and penetration
Performance
Our mobile money customer base grew by 21.3%, reaching 54.1 million as of 31 March 2026, representing 29.5% of our total customer base. This growth was largely driven by expansion of our distribution infrastructure and merchant ecosystem.
Mobile money smartphone user penetration at 51.7% as of 31 March 2026 compared to 47.9% in prior year.
In Nigeria, the company remained focused on customer acquisition throughout the year, with 2.7 million active customers registered for mobile money services as of 31 March 2026.
Mobile money total processed value (TPV) and TPV per customer
Performance
Our mobile money total processed value (TPV) grew by 43.5% in reported currency to $196bn. In constant currency, TPV grew by 35.2%.
The TPV per customer reached $332 per month, an increase of 14.4% in constant currency. The increase in TPV was supported by growth across all key services.
The declining contribution of wallet services to TPV reflects continued ecosystem expansion and the increasing breadth of use cases within the platform.
Mobile money revenue and ARPU
Performance
Mobile money revenue reached $1,355m, an increase of 28.4% in constant currency (36.3% in reported currency) driven by 26.1% growth in East Africa and 34.3% in Francophone Africa. In constant currency, wallet services grew by 28.9%, payment and transfers grew by 28.3% and financial services increased 61.1%.
Mobile money revenue now accounts for 21.1% of total Group revenue (up from 20.1% last year)1.
1 Mobile money contribution is based upon mobile money revenue, including cross-charge revenue from mobile services, which gets eliminated upon consolidation.
Growth percentages in KPIs are in constant currency unless specified. ARPU (CC) is in 2025/26 constant currency for all reported periods.
Operational KPIs (consolidated) – mobile services and mobile money
Total Group revenue and ARPU
Performance
In reported currency, total revenue increased by 29.5% to $6,415m, while ARPU increased from $2.6 to $3.1, reflecting strong underlying revenue momentum, partially supported by currency appreciation across most markets. This represents the highest reported‑currency revenue growth achieved by the Group in any full‑year period.
In constant currency, total revenues increased by 24.0%, which is the highest-ever underlying business growth, driven by both customer base growth of 10.5% and ARPU growth of 12.8%. Growth was reported across all operating segments: mobile services revenue in Nigeria grew by 47.4%, in East Africa by 13.8% and in Francophone Africa by 14.8%. Mobile money revenue grew by 28.4%, driven by 26.1% growth in East Africa and 34.3% in Francophone Africa.
Growth percentages in KPIs are in constant currency unless specified. ARPU (CC) is in 2025/26 constant currency for all reported periods.
Non-financial – Sustainability KPIs
Population covered by mobile network
81.9%
(81.2% in 2024/25)
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
136,133
tCo2e
(134,021 in 2024/25)
Total energy consumption
457,691,861
kWh
(448,050,273 in 2024/25)
Gender balance
29.9%
(29.2% in 2024/25)
- See our Sustainability Report 2026 published on www.airtel.africa
