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Airtel Africa refutes exit rumors with new investment commitment

Airtel Africa’s recent 3rd quarter results accelerated by 6.0 per cent Y-o-Y, the highest over the last 9 quarters /FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 30 – Airtel Africa has refuted speculative reports suggesting the mobile telco is planning to exit from Africa.

The company maintains it is committed to competing in various markets in Africa through further investments to ensure consistent delivery of quality and value for money services to customers.

Airtel Africa revenues for the quarter accelerated by 6.0 per cent Year on Year, the highest over the last 9 quarters.

Responding to the recent human resource changes that may have fueled the exit speculations, Managing Director and CEO of Airtel Africa Raghunath Mandava says the steps taken have been geared towards readying the company to grow efficiently and sustainably.

“The company remains committed to competing in various markets and providing more choice to customers through further investments to ensure consistent delivery of quality and value for money services to our customers. We are also accelerating our investments in new data networks and to modernize our existing networks. We are committed to launch 4G in multiple countries.”

Airtel Kenya announced trials for 4G service in 20 locations in Nairobi with full roll out expected in April this year.

Airtel Africa’s recent 3rd quarter results accelerated by 6.0 per cent Y-o-Y, the highest over the last 9 quarters, with

Mandava adds that talks about mergers and acquisitions are the norm in multinationals, “and they affect all global organizations in equal measures as and when they happen.”

In a statement, Airtel Africa said it is open for opportunities to acquire or merge in companies 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.”

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Data consumption and revenues grew by 91 per cent and 24 per cent Y-o-Y respectively with EBITDA margin expansion of 4.5 per cent Y-o-Y.

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