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Airtel Nigeria generated $1.014bn in revenue in the six months to September 2026, its highest half-year performance since 2022.
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SmartCash PSB revenue rose 176.4 per cent to $10m, while its customer base more than doubled to 4.2 million.
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Data consumption, subscriber growth and naira appreciation supported the recovery, although rising fuel costs remain a pressure on operating margins.
November 03, (THEWILL) – Airtel Nigeria generated $1.014bn in revenue between April and September 2026, crossing the $1bn mark for the first time since the corresponding period in 2022, when it recorded $1.04bn.
The performance represents a 45 per cent increase from the $699m recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, according to Airtel Africa’s half-year financial results.
Its Nigerian mobile money subsidiary, SmartCash Payment Service Bank (PSB), also expanded, recording $10m in revenue as its customer base more than doubled.
The results point to a recovery in Airtel Nigeria’s business following the currency volatility that affected earnings after the naira’s devaluation in 2023.
Improved exchange-rate conditions, higher telecom tariffs and increasing data consumption have supported the rebound.
Airtel Africa attributed the difference between reported and underlying revenue growth in Nigeria partly to the naira’s appreciation.
The weighted average exchange rate used to translate its Nigerian results improved from N1,553 per dollar in the prior period to N1,360 in the latest half-year.
In constant currency, Nigerian revenue grew by 27 per cent, indicating that the improvement was not driven by exchange-rate movements alone.
Airtel Nigeria’s customer base increased by 15.1 percent to 61.7 million, while its average revenue per user rose by 28.7 percent in reported currency.
Data consumption was another major contributor, with smartphone penetration reaching 56.8 percent and monthly smartphone data usage per customer increasing to 16.7GB from 12.7GB.
Data revenue climbed 52.7 percent to $544m, accounting for more than half of the Nigerian mobile services revenue.
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SmartCash revenue grows 176.4 percent
SmartCash PSB recorded revenue of $10m in the six months, compared with $4m in the corresponding period of 2025, representing growth of 176.4 percent. Its customer base increased by 110.9 per cent to 4.2 million from two million.
The growth suggests that Airtel’s financial services business is gaining traction as it seeks to convert its large telecom subscriber base into mobile money customers.
In March 2026, SmartCash said it had approached three million active users while promoting a zero-fee banking model and an annual interest rate of 15 per cent on savings deposits.
Despite the expansion, the Nigerian operation remains relatively small within Airtel Africa’s mobile money business.
The group’s mobile money operations generated $840m in revenue during the half-year, with Nigeria contributing $10m.
Competition intensifies in mobile money
The growth comes as telecom operators strengthen their financial services offerings to compete for a larger share of Nigeria’s digital payments market.
MTN Nigeria reported that revenue from its core mobile money business increased by 102.2 percent in the nine months to September 2026.
Wallet balances also rose more than fourfold to N43.8bn following the migration of MoMo PSB to a new platform powered by Alipay+.
Meanwhile, OPay reported $467.06m in revenue in the first half of 2026, highlighting the scale of competition facing smaller operators.
For Airtel, the immediate challenge is to sustain SmartCash’s customer and revenue growth while improving its contribution to the wider business.
The broader Nigerian recovery has also come with higher operating costs.
Airtel Africa said rising fuel prices put pressure on its Nigerian operations during the period, although cost-efficiency measures helped contain the impact.
Nigeria’s underlying EBITDA margin stood at 58.2 percent for the half-year, up from 56.3 percent a year earlier.
At group level, Airtel Africa’s revenue increased by 28.2 percent to $3.82bn, while profit after tax rose to $452m from $376m.
The results underline the importance of Nigeria to the group’s growth, while SmartCash offers another avenue to monetise its expanding customer base.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
