Airtel Suffers $549m FX Loss Over Currency Devaluation in Nigeria, Malawi

9th May 2024

Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator, Airtel Africa Plc, has disclosed a loss after tax of $89m for its full year ending March 2024, attributing the downturn to a substantial foreign exchange loss of $549m.

The telco said in its report released on Thursday that the loss was triggered by the devaluations of the Nigerian naira in June 2023 and the Malawian kwacha in November 2023.

The company, which operates in 14 African countries, reported that the foreign exchange losses had severely impacted its quarterly earnings.

“Loss after tax was $89m, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, resulting in a $549m exceptional loss net of tax following the Nigerian naira devaluation in June 2023 and the Malawian kwacha devaluation in November 2023,” the report stated.

The company witnessed growth in constant currency revenue, marking an increase of 20.9 per cent for the full year, with growth accelerating to 23.1 per cent in Q4’23.

Nigerian constant currency revenue reached 34.2 per cent growth in Q4’23 despite challenging conditions. However, reported currency revenues saw a decline of 5.3 per cent to $4,979m, primarily due to the impact of currency devaluation, particularly in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Olusegun Ogunsanya, stated: “Facilitating this growth has been and will remain fundamental to our performance. The investment in our distribution to catalyse growth and the technology required to support this growth have been key.

“Furthermore, our rigorous approach to de-risking our balance sheet and our capital allocation priorities has materially reduced the risks that the currency devaluation has had on our businesses”.

Other highlights in the report include that the total customer base grew by 9.0 per cent to 152.7 million.

The company said it will continue to bridge the digital divide with a 17.8 per cent increase in data customers to 64.4 million and a 20.8 per cent increase in data usage per customer.

Across the group mobile services revenue grew by 19.4 per cent in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.9 per cent and data revenue growth of 29.2 per cent.

Mobile Money revenue grew by 32.8 per cent in constant currency, with a continued strong performance in East Africa.

Meanwhile, the management of the company will host an analyst and investor conference call at 1:00 p.m. UK time (BST) on Thursday, May 9, 2024, including a question-and-answer session.