Telecom
Nigeria Contributes 18.3% to Double-digit Revenue Growth in Airtel Africa Q1 Results
Airtel Nigeria total revenues for mobile services and mobile money combined grew by 18.3 per cent in Airtel Africa PLC released financial statement for its Q1 period ended June 30, 2022.
Key Highlights
Revenue grew by 13.0% in reported currency to $1,257m. In constant currency terms revenue grew by 15.3%.
- Total revenues, for mobile services and mobile money services combined, grew in Nigeria by 18.3%, in East Africa by 14.1% and in Francophone Africa by 11.7%.
- Revenue growth in constant currency was posted across all four reporting segments. Mobile Services revenue in Nigeria grew by 18.3%, in East Africa by 11.1% and in Francophone Africa by 10.6% (and across the Group by 14.2%, with voice revenue up by 11.3% and data revenue up by 19.8%). Mobile Money revenue grew by 26.5%, driven by growth of 26.9% in East Africa and 25.4% in Francophone Africa.
- EBITDA grew by 14.9% to $614m in reported currency.
- EBITDA margin was 48.8%, an increase of 78 basis points in reported currency and 52 basis points in constant currency.
- Operating profit grew by 20.6% to $425m in reported currency.
- Profit after tax grew by 25.3% to $178m.
- Basic EPS increased to 4.4 cents (up by 31.0%). EPS before exceptional items was 3.8 cents, up from 3.2 cents in the prior period.
- Operating free cash flow grew by 10.3% to $473m, while net cash generated from operating activities reduced by 13.2% to $388m, mainly due to increased cash tax payments from both higher taxes on declared dividends and increased taxable profits.
- Leverage ratio has improved to 1.3x from 1.8x in the prior period. Post period end, in July 2022, the Group prepaid $450m of outstanding external debt at HoldCo. The remaining debt at HoldCo is now $550m, falling due in May 2024.
- Our total customer base increased to 131.6 million, up 8.9%, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 9.7%) and mobile money services (customer base up 19.7%).
Segun Ogunsanya, chief executive officer, on the trading update: ‘I am pleased to report that the Group has continued to post double-digit revenue growth, margin improvement and strong earnings growth.
“I am also particularly pleased with our ongoing strengthening of the balance sheet which continued after the period ended, with early repayment of $450m of debt at Group level.
“As we flagged in our full year announcement, this quarter we have faced headwinds from outbound voice call barring for customers who had not yet registered their National Identification Numbers in Nigeria and the loss of site sharing revenue in those OpCos where we recently sold towers.
“Inflation is also having an impact on our cost base, particularly on energy costs, but our continued efficiency drives have ensured that we have still been able to increase our margins, albeit at a slightly slower rate.
“After receiving the Payment Service Bank licence in Nigeria just a few months ago, it is a testament to our prior preparation that we have already managed to launch our mobile money operations in a few select locations without any operational issues.
“We are excited by the commercial developments and opportunities here. We also continued to invest for growth and have made a couple of major additional spectrum acquisitions recently in the DRC and Kenya in anticipation of continued strong data demand growth in these markets.
“We continue to target growth ahead of the market this year and, despite inflationary pressures, our continued focus on cost efficiencies should also support margin resilience. Longer term, the opportunities for sustainable profitable growth stemming from our underpenetrated markets for each of mobile voice, data and mobile money services remain hugely attractive, and we are confident of continuing to deliver on our growth strategy”.
Airtel Africa plc results for the quarter ended 30 June 2022 are unaudited and in the opinion of management, include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the results of the same period.
The financial information has been prepared based on International Accounting Standard 34 (IAS 34) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) approved for use in the UK by the UK Accounting Standards Endorsement Board (UKEB) and apply the same accounting policies, presentation and methods of calculation as those followed in the preparation of the Group’s annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 except to the extent required/ prescribed by IAS 34.
This report should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes for the year ended 31 March 2022. The comparative information has been drawn based on Airtel Africa plc’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022.
Comparative quarterly information is drawn from the unaudited IAS 34 financials of the respective quarters. All comparatives and references to the ‘prior period’ or ‘previous period’ in this report are for the reported metrics for the quarter ended 30 June 2021.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
Telecom
MUSON Graduates Shine at 2026 Concert as MTN Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Music Scholarships
Emeka Nwodike, acting director of the MUSON School of Music, conducted the institution’s graduating class in a grand finale performance, bringing the 2026 graduation concert to a memorable close. The concert took place on July 7 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
The event celebrated students who successfully completed the MUSON Diploma Programme through the MTN Foundation Scholarship Programme.
The graduating students delivered a rich choral repertoire that reflected the breadth of their musical training, performing Italian Salad by Richard Genee, My Song by Eriks Esenvalds, Obi Dimkpa by Laz Ekwueme, and an ABBA Medley arranged by Goran Bejstam. Under the Acting Director’s baton, the choir demonstrated technical precision, vocal maturity and artistic expression before an audience of family members, music enthusiasts and industry stakeholders.
The concert formed part of the long-running partnership between the MTN Foundation and the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), which has, since 2006, provided scholarships for hundreds of talented young Nigerians to receive formal music education through the MUSON Diploma School. The programme continues to serve as one of the country’s foremost platforms for developing professional musicians and strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy.
Speaking at the close of the concert, Nwodike expressed appreciation to the MTN Foundation for its sustained support of the scholarship programme over the past two decades. He also thanked the Director of the MUSON Centre, faculty members, mentors and other stakeholders whose dedication has contributed to the school’s continued success.
“For nearly 20 years, the MTN Foundation has remained a steadfast partner in our mission to nurture young musical talent. We are deeply grateful for that commitment. I also want to thank the Director of the MUSON Centre, our faculty, mentors and everyone whose dedication has helped the MUSON School of Music continue to grow and thrive. Their support has made this programme what it is today, and our graduates are a testament to that collective effort,” he said.
Meta is rolling out Muse Image, the companyʼs first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, now available in Meta AI . Muse Spark made Meta AI a smarter assistant; now, Muse Image acts as the creative partner that knows your world, making it easy to turn your ideas into high-quality visuals that you can download and share anywhere, including directly to your feed, story, or chat.
The model also powers new creative tools across Metaʼs apps. You can use more than 30 new AI-powered effects for Instagram Stories and generate images in your direct chats with Meta AI on WhatsApp — starting in limited countries with more locations on the way.
Simple Prompts, High-Quality Outputs
Whether you’re starting from scratch or working with an existing photo, you can describe what you want in simple, conversational language, and Meta AI handles the rest thanks to Muse Image. Ask it to mock up an image of you in front of a historical landmark, cleanly erase a photobomber from the background of a shot, or write a custom prompt to build a functional QR code. It will also render text cleanly inside your visuals, meaning you can ask for a how-to guide or a detailed infographic on a specific subject, and the text comes out legible and styled to match.
Suggested Presets to Help You Get Started
Sometimes the hardest part of creating is getting started. Meta AI now includes a presets panel with suggested prompts to help inspire you. One tap restores an old family photo, lets you see yourself with trending hairstyles, or reimagines you as a claymation character or a 16-bit video game hero. Whatever you create, itʼs easy to share with friends across Metaʼs apps so they can try the same preset on their own photos.
Shop Your Room Redesigns
You can also snap a photo of your room and ask Meta AI to redesign it with real products from the web or Facebook Marketplace. Suggest a style you love or ask Meta AI to pull from whatʼs trending to see what your space looks like with a full makeover.
An Intelligent Creative Partner
Muse Image doesn’t just build an image; it thinks through your prompt first. By pairing up with Muse Spark, the model takes multiple steps behind the scenes — planning its layout, looking up real-time web context, and intelligently blending multiple visual references at once. Whether you want to place your pet in a famous painting or combine a selfie with a vacation photo to create a custom postcard, Meta AI handles the complex reasoning for you so the final visual matches your vision perfectly.
Rooted in Your World
You can also @-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images. Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual thatʼs ready to post. You have control over how your content can be tagged for AI creation with an easy setting to turn this feature off at any time.
Edit Directly on the Photo
To make a change, just tap the markup icon on your creation to circle, sketch, or annotate edits right on top of the photo. Since Meta AI remembers the full context of your conversation, you can keep refining by swapping styles, adding elements, or tweaking details — all without starting from scratch.
Whatʼs Next
Soon, Meta will bring Muse Image to more countries and the places where people use Meta AI, including Facebook and Messenger, and additional surfaces on Instagram and WhatsApp. In the coming weeks, advertisers and agencies will be able to tap into Muse Image through Advantage+ creative.
Using Meta AI with Muse Image is free for everyday creation. For people who want to create even more, itʼs available as part of Metaʼs subscription plans.
Images are just the beginning. With Muse Video already in development, Meta is building entirely new ways for you to bring your ideas to life, getting one step closer to personal superintelligence.
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