Airtel Africa reports $83 million profit in March quarter

Bharti Airtel’s Africa arm swung to a quarterly net profit from a year-earlier loss because of an increase in transaction value on its Airtel Money platform and higher data consumption on its network.

The Africa operations posted a net profit of $83 million in the March quarter, compared to a loss of $49 million a year earlier.

The improved earnings is significant for Bharti Airtel’s Africa arm, which is gearing up for an initial public offering in June-July, while it also battles a bruising tariff war with rival Reliance Jio at home.