Airtel Africa reported net profit of $261 million in its financial results released on Friday for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2020.
This represents 21.1 per cent decline in profit from $331 million reported in the corresponding period in 2019 year.
Meanwhile, underlying revenue grew 13.8 per cent to $2,870 million in the nine-month period.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the nine months was $1,297 million, up 22.5 per cent in constant currency.
The Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, said that its Nigerian unit had collected National Identity Numbers from almost half of its customers.
READ ALSO: CBN To Invest N50bn In Restructuring Nigeria Commodity Exchange
The collection of NIN, according to him, is a regulatory requirement in which valid National Identification Numbers will be added to every SIM card registered in the country.
He said strong growth in revenue and earnings was partly due to the company’s continued delivery of strong customer growth in Q3, despite the introduction mid-December of additional customer registration requirements in Nigeria.
“This has meant a temporary halt to the ability of all operators in the country to onboard new customers. But we are working closely with the government to ensure that all our subscribers provide their valid National Identification Numbers (NINs) and update their SIM registration records, such that disruption is minimised,” he said.
Mandava added that Airtel’s rollout into rural markets, along with robust customer growth, helped voice grow 10 per cent, while data and mobile money continued to be growth engines, with over 30 per cent growth.
The telecom company said it would focus on growing in the markets where it already operates on the continent and will not bid for licences in Ethiopia, where the nation of 110 million people is opening up its telecoms sector, the company’s CEO said on Friday.
