Airtel registers 96.2% decline in profit after tax

The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) listed mobile service provider Airtel Malawi Pl.c has realised a K1.4 billion profit after tax in the year ending December 31, 2023.

This represents a 96.2 percent decline from K36.9 billion which the company registered in the previous year.

Airtel Malawi have also earned a 26.4 percent revenue growth in the year ending December 31.

The financial results for year 2023, showcases Airtel Malawi’s strong performance in customer base growth and Average Revenue per User-ARPU.

The 2023 fiscal year has been a mixed bag to the mobile service provider as the company registered a decline in profit after tax with 96.2 percent margin.

This comes after realizing K1.4 billion from K36.9 billion profit after tax posted in 2022.

Airtel attributes the decline to primarily impacted by the forex loss of 56 billion kwacha in the year 2023, compared to a forex loss of K12.7 billion in 2022.

However, its operating key performance indicators signal total customer base grew by 8.5 percent to 7.1 million while mobile data customers grew by 4.6% to reach 2.5 million.

According to the company, ARPU was up 12.3% to K2,393 primarily driven by increased usage across both voice and data services.

It adds that strong demand for both voice and data services supported a 23.7% growth in voice revenue, and a 23.3% growth in data revenues.

“Revenue growth of 26.4% was largely driven by both customer base growth of 8.5% and Average Revenue Per User per month (ARPU) growth of 12.3%. Revenue growth was broad based across all key segments: Voice revenue up 23.7%, Data revenue up 23.3% and other revenue up 55%.” – Reads the statement

The EBITDA margin of 46.92%, declined by 423 basis points over the period due to the significant currency devaluation in Financial Year 2023, which resulted in increased inflationary pressure on the cost base, primarily as a result of an increase in fuel prices.

Net finance costs increased by 323% largely as a result of higher foreign exchange losses in the current period. The Malawi Kwacha devalued by over 66% in Financial Year 2023, as opposed to 25% in Financial Year 2022.

Meanwhile, the company has emphasized its continued commitment in supporting the economy, and keeping communities and businesses in Malawi connected by increasing mobile penetration in Malawi through investment in under-served rural markets, and increasing data penetration to further enhance the digitalisation of the Malawian economy.

On 7 February 2024, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) approved the renewal of the company’s Network Services Licence, Application Service Licence and Network Facilities Service Licence for a period of 10 years.