Data Revolution Drives Airtel Nigeria's Revenue to N980 Billion in 2023

Airtel Nigeria, a leading telecommunications operator, achieved a significant milestone by generating a total revenue of N980 billion ($2.128 billion) for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023. This represents an impressive year-on-year growth of 20.3% compared to the N864.9 billion ($1.878 billion) recorded in the same period last year.

AUDITED REPORT

The audited financial report released by Airtel Africa, the parent company of Airtel Nigeria, revealed that the Nigeria operating company experienced notable growth in both voice and data revenue. The voice revenue surged by 13.4% to reach N484.9 billion ($1.053 billion), while the data revenue witnessed a remarkable increase of 27.8% to reach N407.1 billion ($884 million).

Despite these impressive results, Airtel acknowledged that the overall performance could have been even better if not for the cash scarcity experienced in Nigeria during the first quarter of the year. This cash scarcity significantly impacted the company's revenue during that period.

In a noteworthy disclosure, Airtel revealed that 50% of total recharges made by Nigerians are still cash-based, which explains why the recent cash crunch had a notable impact on the company's revenue.

THE CEO’S COMMENT ON DATA PUSH AND CONSUMPTION 

Regarding the data push and consumption of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, the CEO of Airtel Africa, provided his insights, saying:

“Over the last year, we have enhanced our 4G network with ample data network capacity to provide high-speed data to our customers with almost 100% of our sites now on 4G and data capacity increase of 27.5%.

“This has contributed to 4G data customer growth of 27.6%. Data usage per customer increased by 24.8% facilitating continued data ARPU growth. Data usage per customer reached 5 GB per customer per month from 4 GB per customer per month in the previous period.

“In Q4’23, 4G data usage per customer increased to 9.5 GB per month (up by 46.5%) from 6.5 GB per customer per month in prior period. 4G data usage now contributes to 80.4% of total data usage on our network.”

IMPROVING DATA SERVICES

The company, which obtained a 5G license earlier this year, has affirmed its commitment to enhancing the quality of its data services. It plans to achieve this by expanding its 4G coverage and leveraging the upcoming launch of 5G technology to provide an even better experience for its customers.

“The acquisition of 5G spectrum will underpin our growth strategy by enabling the launch of higher speed connectivity to enhance customer service and accelerate digitalization for consumers, enterprises, and the public sector.

“The key benefits of 5G will include higher speeds, lower latency, significant network capacity as well as an improved user experience. Furthermore, the deployment of 5G will accelerate the availability and efficiency of fixed wireless access products across the country, contributing towards Airtel Nigeria’s progress in meeting the National Broadband Plan targets.” Ogunsanya said.

According to him, Airtel's recent acquisition of the 2600 MHz spectrum will serve as a valuable addition to its existing spectrum portfolio, enabling the company to boost network capacity and ensure its growth opportunities are future-proofed.