Airtel’s Data Sales: $344m Revenue Loss Exposed.

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Airtel Nigeria’s data revenue declined to $344m for the nine months ending December 31, 2024. This is a significant drop from the $539m recorded in the same period the previous year.

Despite a 37.2% surge in data usage per customer, the telco struggled to convert the increased demand into higher revenue. Airtel Nigeria’s subscriber base stands at 56.6 million.

Following the Nigerian Communications Commission’s approval of a 50% industry-wide tariff adjustment, Airtel introduced a data tariff hike. This move brings the company in line with its major competitors, such as MTN.

“The price increase, which was highly needed for the survival and continued growth of the industry, will enable us to continue investing in network infrastructure, expanding coverage, and delivering improved products and services that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” said Airtel Nigeria’s CEO, Dinesh Balsingh.

Airtel’s financial performance has been strong, with a 31.4% rise in average revenue per user. However, the depreciation of the naira has affected reported revenue.

The company expects the new tariff structure to stabilize earnings in the coming quarters. Airtel also reported an 8.2% increase in data customers and a surge in average revenue per user.

“Data revenue surged by 44.3% in constant currency, driven by solid growth in both the number of data customers and ARPU,” the report stated.

Smartphone users are consuming more data, with average usage increasing to 11.2GB per month.

Nigerian telecom operators have faced financial strain due to an 11-year delay in tariff adjustments. This has led to a projected $11.3bn revenue shortfall between 2022 and 2026.

The inability to increase tariffs has eroded earnings, with operators facing forex losses and high inflation despite nominal revenue growth.

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