African payments company Airtel Money has reported a 25% jump in half-year revenues to 830 million US dollars (£621 million), driven by nine million new customers and higher spending per transaction, weeks after completing London's largest stock market flotation in five years.
The business published its first set of financial results since its initial public offering (IPO), which valued the company at approximately £5.3 billion.
Strong profit growth and expanding customer base
For the six months ending in September, pre-tax profits rose 18% year-on-year to 360 million US dollars (£270 million). Revenue growth was attributed to an expanding customer base and higher average spending per transaction.
The customer base reached 56.7 million by the end of September, around nine million more than the previous year. The average transaction value per customer climbed nearly 15% to 397 US dollars (£297) monthly.
Growth was fuelled by expansion across its product range, including wallet services, payments and transfers, and financial services.
Agent network and digital uptake
Airtel Money serves customers through a network of branches and kiosks across Africa, where people make payments, settle bills, withdraw cash and access additional financial services. The firm operated around 2.4 million agents by the end of the period, roughly a quarter more than the year before, alongside some 43,000 branches and kiosks.
The company also recorded a surge in customers using its app, which it attributed to growing digital uptake among its user base.
Landmark London listing
Airtel Money was spun off from separately listed FTSE 100 firm Airtel Africa, a leading telecoms provider and part of Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises. Its IPO earlier this month was the largest on the London Stock Exchange since 2021 and is widely regarded as the first major African fintech to float on a global stock exchange.
Chief executive Ian Ferrao said: "Our oversubscribed London listing was a landmark achievement for Airtel Money and a vote of confidence in our business model and strategy."
He added: "Our fastest growth is coming from payments and transfers and financial services, which are higher-quality revenue streams. And with around 75 million Airtel telco subscribers not yet using Airtel Money, our runway for growth remains significant."
Airtel's shares climbed approximately 5% in early trading on Monday.
