Airtel Nigeria posted an average revenue per user (ARPU) of ₦3,771 ($2.80) in the first half of its 2026 financial year, covering April to September, a 28.7% year-on-year increase from the ₦2,969 ($2.20) recorded in the same period of 2025.

ARPU, a standard telecoms metric that tracks the average revenue generated per subscriber each month, is closely watched as a gauge of pricing and usage trends on a network. Because Airtel Nigeria's subscriber base grew 15.1% over the same span, the ARPU gain alongside the unit's 45% revenue expansion reflects both higher average spend per user and a larger customer base.

The figures were disclosed in a half-year corporate filing published by Airtel Africa on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) on Friday. The filing covers results for the half-year ended September 2026.

Revenue Growth Across All Streams

Airtel Nigeria's revenue grew 45% to ₦1.37 trillion ($1.014 billion) for the half-year ended September 2026, up from ₦941.2 billion ($699 million) in the same period last year. The performance reinforces the unit's position as a major growth engine for the African telecoms group — Nigeria's $1.014 billion haul represented just over a quarter of the group's $3.823 billion in half-year revenue — with strong gains across all revenue streams.

Data revenue led the expansion, rising 52.7% to ₦732.6 billion ($544 million) from ₦480.7 billion ($357 million), reflecting increasing smartphone penetration and growing data consumption. The segment now generates more than half of the unit's half-year revenue, underscoring how its growth mix is tilting toward internet services. Voice revenue grew 37.8% to ₦498.24 billion ($370 million), while underlying EBITDA increased 50.2% to ₦793.15 billion ($589 million), with the EBITDA margin expanding to 58.1%.

The unit's total customer base stood at 61.7 million, a 15.1% increase from 53.6 million in the previous period, while internet subscribers rose to 32.9 million from 29.5 million.

Mobile Money Expands From a Small Base in Nigeria

The group's mobile money operation in Nigeria remains comparatively small and continues to face tough competition from large fintech companies and rival mobile money services. Even so, Airtel Money revenue in Nigeria surged 176.4% to $10 million from ₦5.39 billion ($4 million) in the previous period, growth the company attributed to its IPO offer and continued penetration in the country. The Nigerian mobile money customer base stood at 4.2 million — a small fraction of the unit's 61.7 million subscribers — compared with 44.1 million in East Africa and 12.6 million in Francophone Africa.

For the group as a whole, mobile money profit after tax rose to ₦307 billion ($228 million) in the six months ended September 2026, on revenue of $830 million, up 34% year on year. Airtel Money's customer base reached 56.7 million, and the group said around 75 million Airtel subscribers do not yet use Mobile Money, leaving room to expand adoption.

Group Profit After Tax Climbs 20.5%

Group profit after tax for the six months climbed 20.5% to $452 million from $376 million in the same period of the previous year. Operating profit expanded 34.2% to $1.286 billion, while total revenue increased 28.2% in reported currency to $3.823 billion, up from $2.982 billion a year earlier. EBITDA rose 32.8% to $1.921 billion, with the underlying EBITDA margin expanding by 172 basis points to 50.3%.

The group's total customer base grew 11.6% to 193.9 million, including 15% growth in the data customer base to 89.9 million.

Sunil Taldar, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, said the company delivered another strong operating and financial performance that reflects the depth of demand across its markets, noting that total customer growth “remained strong and stable at 11.6%.”

“Despite rising fuel costs continuing to exert inflationary pressure on our cost base, we delivered a record underlying EBITDA margin through a combination of operational discipline, ongoing cost efficiency programmes and continued scale benefits,” he added in the earnings report.

Capex Acceleration Planned

On infrastructure, Airtel said it spent ₦884.8 billion ($657 million) on capital expenditure and added 4,200 sites during the half-year to September 2026. Looking ahead, the group said it plans to accelerate capital expenditure to capture future market opportunities.

“Our confidence in the growth trajectory of the business and the significant long-term opportunity across our markets underpins our decision to accelerate investment,” Taldar said.

The pace of that accelerated build-out, along with whether Airtel Money can convert more of the unit's 61.7 million Nigerian subscribers beyond its current 4.2 million mobile money customers, will be key details to track when the group reports its full-year results.

Note: All dollar conversions are based on the exchange rate of $1 to ₦1,346.8600 as of Friday, October 30, 2026.

The full filing is available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Source: TechNext24