Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V. (LSE:AMC), the pan-African mobile money operator, on Monday reported revenue of US$830m for the half year ended 30 September, up 34.0% in reported currency and 25.1% in constant currency from US$620m a year earlier, in its first results since listing in London.
The company declared an interim dividend of 6.4 US cents per share, representing 81% of profit attributable to owners of the company and in line with its policy of a minimum 80% payout.
Profit after tax rose to USD 228m from USD 188m, while basic earnings per share increased to 7.9 US cents from 6.5 US cents; excluding exceptional items tied to IPO expenses, EPS before exceptional items was 8.1 US cents, up from 6.5 US cents.
Underlying EBITDA grew 26.4% in reported currency to USD 398m, but the underlying EBITDA margin fell to 48.0% from 50.8%, a decline the company attributed primarily to changes made to intra-group agreements with Airtel Africa effective from July 2025, plus an additional levy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gross profit rose 31.3% in reported currency to USD 499m, with gross margin slipping to 60.2% from 61.4%, also largely reflecting the intra-group agreement changes.
The customer base grew 18.7% to 56.7m, lifting mobile money penetration of the telco customer base to 42.9%, up 3.2 percentage points year on year, while the Airtel Money app customer base jumped 64.3% to 4.1m.
Annualised total processed value reached USD 270bn in the second quarter, up 36.4% in constant currency, with transaction value per customer rising 14.9% to USD 397 per month.
Active agents increased 26.3% to 2.4m and active merchants rose 85.5% to over 587,000.
Operating free cash flow climbed 27.1% to USD 378m, with the pre-tax conversion ratio improving to 94.9% from 94.4%.
"Our first half was in line with our expectations: revenue grew 34% in reported currency to USD 830m, 25% in constant currency and our customer base reached 56.7 million," said chief executive Ian Basil Ferrao, adding that "with around 75 million Airtel telco subscribers not yet using Airtel Money, our runway for growth remains significant."
Ferrao said the first-half margin reflects the greater concentration of the intra-group agreement impact in the first half, and that as this effect moderates, management expects the margin to strengthen in the second half, keeping the group on track to deliver its full-year guidance.
The company reiterated its guidance for the year ending March 2027, targeting revenue growth of mid-20s percent in constant currency, with the underlying EBITDA margin expected to moderate by up to approximately 2 percentage points relative to the prior financial year.
Over the medium term, the group has guided to constant currency revenue growth trending upwards in line with historical rates, with the underlying EBITDA margin targeted to return above 50%.
Airtel Mobile Commerce was admitted to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 14 October, after existing shareholders sold 270m shares, 10% of issued share capital, at £1.96 per share, valuing the company at approximately £5.3bn; the company did not raise any new capital in the listing.
The board also underwent reconstitution ahead of admission, with Arijit Ranjan Sarker appointed Independent Non-Executive Chair, Michiel de Jong and Natalia Wallenberg appointed Independent Non-Executive Directors, and Shravin Mittal appointed Non-Executive Director on 3 September, while Kamiel Koot joined as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 1 July.
The interim dividend of 6.4 US cents per share is payable on 4 December to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 20 November.