Airtel Debunks Alleged plans to Divest from Africa
Airtel Africa has debunked claimes that the network operator habours plans to vacate the continent. Airtel currently operates across 15 African markets and the company said it remains committed to Africa and will continue to invest in its operations to grow sustainable in Africa.
A statement by the operator said Africa remains a viable market as the continent “is now generating positive free cash and is PBT positive in constant currency.”
The statement said “Airtel Africa’s recent 3rd quarter results were strong. The underlying Africa revenues for the quarter accelerated by 6.0 per cent Y-o-Y, the highest over the last 9 quarters. The organizations efforts to improve the quality of customer acquisitions have resulted in a reduction in customer churn to 4.9 per cent from 6.0 per cent. Data consumption and revenues have grown by 91.0 per cent & 24.0 per cent Y-o-Y respectively, led by stronger data networks”.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, stated that rather than leaving the continent, the operator is open to more acquisition as it has done in recent years to strengthen its grip and provide better service to consumers.
“All the steps taken recently with regard to human resources and infrastructure have been geared towards readying the organization to grow efficiently and sustainably in the medium to long term. We are also accelerating our investments in new data networks and to modernize our existing networks. We are committed to launch 4 G in multiple countries.
“Mergers and acquisitions continue to be the norm for any multinational organization and they affect all global organizations in equal measures as and when they happen. As a strategy, we look for opportunities to acquire or merge in opcos that are operating in a fragmented market structure with too many players in a small market.
“Last year, Airtel and Orange reached a mutually beneficial agreement on the assets in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso. Similarly, Airtel also acquired assets in Uganda, CongoB and Kenya in recent times. The agreements brought together the strengths of Airtel, Warid and Essar. This has offered benefits to customers in the form of a superior and wider network, affordable voice / data services and better customer care. Away from Africa, recently, we merged with Robi in Bangladesh to create a solid and profitable No.2 player in the market,” explained.
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