Page 1

Airtel Africa plc Results for half year ended 30 September 2021 28 October 2021 Strong growth across the Group , doubling profit after tax , increased cash generation , lower leverage and dividend upgrade Highlights H1'22 reported revenue grew by 25.2 % to $ 2,272m with double digit growth across all regions . Q2 reported revenue growth of 20.3 % . Revenue in constant currency grew by 27.6 % . ● Strong double - digit constant currency revenue growth across all regions : Nigeria up 32.4 % , East Africa up 25.8 % and Francophone Africa up 22.1 % ; and across all key services , Voice up 19.7 % , Data up 36.9 % and Mobile Money up 42.0 % . Underlying EBITDA grew by 35.2 % to $ 1,098m in reported currency and underlying EBITDA margin improved to 48.3 % , an increase of 360 basis points led by both revenue growth and improved operational efficiencies . Operating profit up 55.1 % to $ 732m in reported currency . Profit after tax more than doubled to $ 335m , largely due to higher profit before tax which more than offset the associated increase in tax charges . ● ● Basic EPS was 7.6 cents , an increase of 155.9 % , as a result of higher profit . EPS before exceptional items increased to 7.5 cents from 3.0 cents in previous period . Operating free cash flow was $ 853m , up 43.1 % , and over the last 18 months we have up streamed more than $ 570m across our operating entities . Leverage ratio reduced to 1.5x from 2.2x . Customer base grew by 5.4 % to 122.7 million , with increased penetration across mobile data ( customer base up 10.9 % ) and mobile money services ( customer base up 19.0 % ) . Customer base growth was affected by the new NIN / SIM registration regulations in Nigeria ; excluding Nigeria the customer base grew by 13.7 % . The board has declared an interim dividend of 2 cents per share ( 1.5 cents in H1'21 ) in line with an upgraded dividend policy . The new policy aims to grow the dividend annually by a mid to high - single digit percentage from a new base of 5 cents per share for FY 2022 , with a continued focus to further strengthen the balance sheet . Alternative performance measures ¹ ( Half year ended ) Description Sep - 21 $ m 2,272 1,098 48.3 % Sep - 20 $ m 1,815 812 44.7 % Revenue Underlying EBITDA Underlying EBITDA margin EPS before exceptional items ( $ cents ) Operating free cash flow 853 596 ( 1 ) Alternative performance measures ( APM ) are described on page 45 . 7.5 3.0 Reported currency change % 25.2 % 35.2 % 360 bps 149.7 % 43.1 % Constant currency change % 27.6 % 38.5 % 381 bps GAAP measures ( Half year ended ) Description Revenue Operating profit Profit after tax airtel Basic EPS ( $ cents ) Net cash generated from operating activities Sep - 21 $ m 2,272 732 335 7.6 922 Sep - 20 $ m 1,815 472 145 3.0 744 Reported currency change % 25.2 % 55.1 % 131.6 % 155.9 % 23.9 % Segun Ogunsanya , chief executive officer , on the trading update : " Our first half financial performance has been strong . The first half of last year , and especially Q1 , was impacted by the start of Covid , but even after adjusting for these effects , our revenue growth rates for the half year for the Group and all our service segments are ahead of our FY'21 revenue growth trends , and in reported terms these are all in strong double digits . The risks from Covid still remain , with sub - Saharan Africa continuing to experience a third wave of the pandemic . Governments continue to implement balanced measures of lockdowns and restrictions accordingly . But vaccination levels remain low , and we continue to monitor the situation for potential impacts on economies and consumers . Operationally we have continued our network modernisation and expansion , aligned with an extension of our distribution capabilities , which have together contributed towards continued strong growth in ARPUs across voice , data and mobile money . We have seen an improvement in our customer growth trends for the Group as we approach stability of net monthly movements in Nigeria . Alongside our results we have today launched our sustainability strategy . Airtel Africa has always been a business with a sustainable premise at the heart of our purpose to transform lives across Africa through our promotion of both digital and financial inclusion . Our sustainability strategy builds upon this , extending and more comprehensively articulating our sustainability goals and credentials . I am excited by the new initiatives we have launched and I look forward to reporting back on our developments in this area with our first sustainability report next year . 1