Airtel Nigeria’s data revenue fell to $344m for the nine months ending December 31, 2024, marking a decline from $539m recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Despite a 37.2 per cent surge in data usage per customer—rising to 8.4 gigabytes per month from 6.2GB—the telco struggled to convert the increased demand into higher revenue, it said in its financial report analysed on Tuesday.
With a subscriber base of 56.6 million, the second biggest operator introduced a data tariff hike on Monday, following the Nigerian Communications Commission’s approval of a 50mm per cent industry-wide tariff adjustment.
This move brings Airtel in line with its major competitors, such as MTN, which also raised prices for both calls and data services. The company anticipates that the tariff adjustment will foster revenue recovery in the coming months.
“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,” Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said in a note shared with The PUNCH in January.
Airtel’s financial performance has been buoyed by strong demand for mobile data, with a 31.4 per cent rise in average revenue per user.
However, the depreciation of the naira has weighed on its reported revenue. The new tariff structure is expected to help stabilize earnings in the coming quarters.
The company also reported an 8.2 per cent increase in the number of data customers, alongside the surge in ARPU.
“Data revenue surged by 44.3 per cent in constant currency, driven by solid growth in both the number of data customers and ARPU, which grew by 8.2 per cent and 31.4 per cent, respectively,” the report stated.
Additionally, smartphone users are consuming more data, with average usage climbing to 11.2GB per month, up from 8.8GB in the previous period.
Nigerian telecom operators have faced mounting financial strain due to an 11-year delay in tariff adjustments. The prolonged price stagnation has led to a projected $11.3bn revenue shortfall between 2022 and 2026, primarily driven by the naira’s depreciation and escalating operational costs.
The inability to increase tariffs in line with economic realities has significantly eroded earnings, with operators grappling with forex losses and high inflation despite nominal revenue growth.
