Airtel Africa reports $57 mn profit, falling 53% in constant currency terms

Airtel Africa on Friday reported net profit of $57 million for the June 2020 quarter, aided largely by higher data consumption and mobile wallet usage.

However, net profit slumped 53.6 per cent in constant currency (CC) terms, compared to $132 million reported for the June 2019 quarter.

The decline was driven by a one-off gain of $72 million related to the expired indemnity to certain pre-IPO investors for the same period last year, as well as higher finance costs and tax outgo.

Reporting figures in CC terms eliminates the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on a firm’s financial statements.

Net debt for the African arm of Bharti Airtel stood at $3.4 billion, down $656 million from $4.1 billion in June 2019, thanks to an inflow of $680 million from the IPO proceeds and $122 million from the cancellation of derivatives — partially offset by interim dividend payment of $113 million — according to Airtel Africa’s financial statements.