Airtel Money Revenue Rises 34% to $830 Million in H1 2026

Airtel Money announced that revenue for the six months to September 30, 2026 increased by 34 per cent to $830 million, marking its first financial report since the company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

On a constant-currency basis the revenue gain was 25.1 per cent; profit after tax grew 21.6 per cent to $228 million and underlying EBITDA reached $398 million, while the EBITDA margin fell to 48 per cent from 50.8 per cent a year earlier. Gross profit was $499 million and operating free cash flow rose 27.1 per cent to $378 million.

The board approved an interim dividend of 6.4 US cents per share, representing 81 per cent of profit attributable to shareholders, payable on December 4 to holders on the register at close of business on November 20.

The customer base expanded 18.7 per cent to 56.7 million, lifting mobile-money penetration among Airtel telecom customers to 42.9 per cent from 39.7 per cent. The smartphone app attracted 4.1 million users, a 64.3 per cent increase, while active agents grew 26.3 per cent to 2.4 million and merchants on the platform rose 85.5 per cent to more than 587,000.

Total processed transaction value for the period climbed 36.8 per cent in constant currency to $128 billion, with an annualised value of $270 billion in the second quarter. Average transaction value per customer rose 14.9 per cent to $397 per month and average revenue per user increased 5.1 per cent.

Revenue from payments and transfers grew 29.4 per cent in constant currency, wallet services rose 27.6 per cent and financial-services revenue jumped 44.8 per cent, now accounting for 4.7 per cent of total revenue.

In East Africa, revenue reached $615 million, up 20.5 per cent in constant currency, with 44.1 million customers and penetration of 49.7 per cent; processed value in the region rose 34.7 per cent to $98 billion. Francophone Africa saw revenue increase 40.2 per cent to $215 million, a customer base of 12.6 million and penetration of 29 per cent, with processed value up 44.1 per cent to $30 billion.

Chief executive Ian Basil Ferrao said the business remains on a compelling growth path and highlighted that roughly 75 million Airtel telecom subscribers across its footprint have not yet adopted Airtel Money. He added that margin pressure is expected to ease in the second half and that the company targets mid-20 per cent constant-currency revenue growth for the year to March 2027, with EBITDA margins above 50 per cent over the medium term.

Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., the holding company for Airtel Money, was admitted to the London Stock Exchange Main Market on October 14 under the ticker AMC. The listing involved the sale of 270 million existing shares at £1.96 each, representing 10 per cent of issued share capital and valuing the company at about £5.3 billion (approximately $7 billion); no new capital was raised.