Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel on Friday has reported a decline of 22 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in its net profit to $261 million for the ninth month ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $331 million in the corresponding period previous year.

However, its underlying revenue grew by around 14 per cent to $2,870 million during the period as against $2,522 million in April-December 2019.

"Our nine-month performance reflects both the resilience of our business model through the Covid-19 pandemic and, for the last six months, a continued improvement in our execution and performance as lockdown restrictions have eased across our countries of operation,” Raghunath Mandava, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa said.

During the latest third quarter, there has been growth in both revenue and underlying EBITDA in constant currency to 22.8 per cent and 28.3 per cent respectively, he said.

“In part, this is due to our continued delivery of strong customer growth in third quarter, despite the introduction mid-December of additional customer registration requirements in Nigeria. This has meant a temporary halt to the ability of all operators in the country to onboard new customers,” he said.

The company was working closely with the government to ensure that all its subscribers provide their valid National Identification Numbers (NINs) and update their SIM registration records, such that disruption is minimised, he said.

“The opportunities for sustainable, profitable growth from our underpenetrated markets for both mobile and mobile money services remain hugely attractive, and we are confident of continuing to deliver on our growth strategy," Mandava added.

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