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Airtel Africa Q2 Results: Profit Falls 37%, Revenue Up 11% Amid Covid Woes

Airtel Africa’s performance continued to improve in the second quarter as lockdown restrictions eased, CEO Raghunath Mandava says

A pedestrian walks in front of a Bharti Airtel Ltd. money agent shop in Mombasa, Kenya. (Photographer: Luis Tato/Bloomberg)
A pedestrian walks in front of a Bharti Airtel Ltd. money agent shop in Mombasa, Kenya. (Photographer: Luis Tato/Bloomberg)

Airtel Africa’s profit fell in the July-September quarter as pandemic-related disruptions persisted for the first half of the ongoing financial year.

Profit after tax of Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Africa arm declined 36.6% year-on-year to $145 million (Rs 1,066 crore) in the second quarter on the back of revenue that rose 10.7% over the year ago to $1,815 million. The company’s operating profit, however, grew 19.5% in constant currency terms to $472 million.

Airtel Africa CEO Raghunath Mandava said the first half of current fiscal included the peak impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the countries where the company operates.

"Importantly, the fundamentals of our business remain strong and revenue growth further benefited from the execution of our strategy with specific focus on expanding distribution in rural areas, investing in our network and increasing 4G coverage, as well as benefiting from the fact we provide an essential service to consumer," he said.

Mandava said that as the lockdown restrictions eased during the second quarter, Airtel Africa's performance continued to improve with constant currency revenue growth of 19.6%.