Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., the holding company for Airtel Money, announced revenue of $830 million for the six months ended September 30, 2026, a 34.0 per cent increase in reported currency, and profit after tax of $228 million.
The figures were released on October 26, shortly after the company’s shares began trading on the London Stock Exchange on October 14 under the ticker AMC, and the board approved an interim dividend of 6.4 US cents per share payable on December 4.
In constant-currency terms, revenue rose 25.1 per cent, a gap the company attributed mainly to appreciation of the Zambian kwacha.
Gross profit increased 31.3 per cent to $499 million and basic earnings per share were 7.9 cents, up from 6.5 cents a year earlier; before exceptional items, which included $6 million of IPO costs, earnings per share were 8.1 cents.
Revenue growth by product in constant currency was 27.6 per cent for wallet services, 29.4 per cent for payments and transfers, and 44.8 per cent for financial services, which accounted for 4.7 per cent of total revenue, up from 4.1 per cent.
Other revenue, consisting of retention payments from Airtel Africa, fell 40.7 per cent.
Underlying EBITDA margin slipped to 48.0 per cent from 50.8 per cent, a decline of 286 basis points, of which 270 basis points were linked to revised agreements with Airtel Africa effective July 2025 and a further 60 basis points to an additional levy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The revised agreements will phase out retention revenue by March 2027, and the company expects the margin to improve in the second half, according to chief executive Ian Basil Ferrao, who said the first half “reflects the greater concentration of the IGA impact in H1.”
Guidance for the year to March 2027 remains unchanged, targeting constant-currency revenue growth in the mid-20s per cent and an underlying EBITDA margin up to about two percentage points below the prior year, with a medium-term aim of exceeding 50 per cent.
The customer base grew 18.7 per cent to 56.7 million, representing 42.9 per cent of Airtel Africa’s telecom subscribers, while app customers rose 64.3 per cent to 4.1 million, active agents increased 26.3 per cent to 2.4 million and merchants grew 85.5 per cent to more than 587,000.
Total processed transaction value reached $128 billion in the half, with the second quarter annualised at $270 billion, a 36.4 per cent rise in constant currency, and the take-rate fell to 0.65 per cent from 0.71 per cent, which the company linked to intra-group changes and product mix.
Ferrao noted that roughly 75 million Airtel telecom subscribers have not yet adopted Airtel Money.
Growth in East Africa, covering Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, was slower than in Francophone Africa, which includes the DRC and other countries; the latter’s revenue increase was driven mainly by the DRC, where transaction value per customer rose only 3.0 per cent in constant currency.
In the Francophone region, intra-group changes cut margin by 360 basis points and the DRC levy reduced it by 220 basis points; the report did not provide country-level figures.
Communications Authority data showed Safaricom held 92.3 per cent of Kenya’s mobile-money market and Airtel 7.6 per cent in a January 2025 report, with a July 2025 follow-up indicating Airtel gaining ground on M-Pesa.
The interim dividend represents 81 per cent of profit attributable to owners, meeting the company’s target payout of at least 80 per cent; shareholders on the register at close of business on November 20 will receive payment in US dollars, and shares trade without the dividend from November 19.
Based on 2.7 billion shares, the payout amounts to about $173 million; existing shareholders sold 270 million shares, or 10 per cent of the company, at £1.96 each, valuing Airtel Money at roughly £5.3 billion ($7.0 billion).
No new capital was raised, but an option to sell up to 27 million additional shares remains open during the stabilisation period.
The listing followed a delay after a May report that geopolitical developments had shifted market conditions, prompting the company to target the second half of 2026 for the IPO; Airtel Africa had first considered a listing in March 2024 with a potential valuation above $4 billion.
The board now includes independent non-executive chair Arijit Ranjan Sarker, with Michiel de Jong, Natalia Wallenberg and Shravin Mittal joining on September 3 and Kamiel Koot on July 1, while five directors have departed.
Airtel Africa plc, the parent group, reported half-year revenue of $3,823 million, up 28.2 per cent (20.8 per cent in constant currency), profit after tax of $452 million, underlying EBITDA margin of 50.3 per cent, capital expenditure of $657 million, the addition of about 4,200 sites, and leverage falling to 1.6 times from 2.1 times.
The group declared an interim dividend of 3.1 cents, a 9.2 per cent increase, and spent $108.7 million on share buybacks; chief executive Sunil Taldar said the listing “represents a significant milestone for the Group” and that Airtel Africa remains a long-term strategic shareholder, while noting fuel prices continue to exert inflationary pressure.
Investors will watch whether Airtel Money’s margin recovers in the second half as projected, how the DRC levy affects Francophone earnings, and the outcome of the share-sale option, with the retention-revenue agreement set to end on March 31, 2027.
