AIRTEL GROUP ACTS TO PROTECT BUSINESS FROM CURRENCY DEFLATIONS
AIRTEL Africa plc says its rigorous approach to de- risking the balance sheet and capital allocation priorities has materially reduced the risks that the currency devaluation has had on the business.
Key initiatives included the reduction of United States ( US) dollar debt across the business and the accumulation of cash at the HoldCo level to fully cover the outstanding debt due.
This is according to the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Ogunsanya, in his comment on the results for year ended March 31, 2024.
“We will continue to focus on reducing our exposure to currency volatility. At the beginning of March, we launched our first buyback programme reflecting the strength of our financial position.
“The growth opportunity that exists across our markets remains compelling, and we are well positioned to deliver against this opportunity. We will continue to focus on margin improvement from the recent level as we progress through the year,” Mr Ogunsanya said.
Financial performance for the Airtel Africa showed that reported currency revenues declined by 5.3 percent to US$ 4.979 billion, reflecting the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.
The results also showed that revenue in constant currency grew by 20.9 percent with growth accelerating to 23.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Across the group mobile services revenue grew by 19.4 percent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.9 percent and data revenue growth of 29.2 percent.
Mobile Money revenue grew by 32.8 percent in constant currency, with a continued strong performance in East Africa.
Commenting on these results, Mr Ogunsanya said: “The consistent deployment of our ‘ Win with’ strategy supported the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth over the recent quarters which has 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.”