Joy Agwunobi
Airtel Africa Plc has officially commenced the second tranche of its $100 million share buyback programme, with the company aiming to repurchase shares worth up to $55 million before or on November 19, 2025.
The telecom giant made this announcement through a corporate disclosure filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), marking a significant move in its ongoing capital optimisation strategy.
According to the disclosure, this second phase follows the successful completion of the initial tranche earlier this year. The buyback programme, initially announced on December 23, 2024, is structured to be implemented in two phases. The first tranche, which ran from March to August 2024, involved a maximum share repurchase of $50 million. The current tranche is now underway, having commenced on May 14, 2025.
“Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services operating across 14 African markets, is pleased to announce the commencement of the second tranche of its $100 million share buy-back programme,” the company stated.
To facilitate the execution of this initiative, Airtel Africa disclosed that it is collaborating with Barclays Capital Securities Limited. Under the arrangement, Barclays will conduct on-market purchases of the company’s ordinary shares and later transfer them to Airtel Africa. The financial institution will serve as a riskless principal, executing trades independently of Airtel, in line with regulatory requirements and market norms.
The company noted that all shares repurchased under the programme will be cancelled, in line with its goal of reducing the overall capital base and enhancing shareholder value.
Airtel Africa explained that the decision to embark on the share buyback programme earlier this year came on the heels of its financial results for the nine months ended December 2023. The company had then highlighted its strong cash flow generation, reduced leverage, and overall financial strength as key enablers for the initiative.
“This buyback programme reflects the significant progress made in recent years to reduce leverage and strengthen the company’s balance sheet. Given the strong cash accretion at the holding company level and consistently solid operating performance, Airtel Africa is well-positioned to undertake this initiative in line with its capital allocation policy,” the company said during its earlier announcement in 2024.
In its most recent financial report for the year ended March 31, 2025, Airtel Africa reported a net profit of $328 million, a turnaround from the $89 million loss recorded in the previous financial year. The FY’24 performance had been negatively impacted by derivative and foreign exchange losses, especially from its Nigerian operations.
Despite the return to profitability, the company’s total revenue for the fiscal year experienced a marginal decline of 0.5 per cent, settling at $4.95 billion. Airtel attributed this to adverse currency devaluation effects, although it noted that tariff adjustments in Nigeria contributed to sustained growth momentum in the latter part of the year.
The report also highlighted steady growth in customer engagement. The telecom operator’s total customer base rose by 8.7 per cent to 166.1 million. Smartphone penetration increased by 4.3 per cent to 44.8 per cent, while data customers grew by 14.1 per cent to reach 73.4 million. Data consumption per customer also jumped by 30.4 per cent, averaging 7.0 GB per user.
