Airtel Africa begins second round of $100m share buy-back program

• Published On: 14 May 2025 at 19:41

Airtel Africa Plc has officially launched the second tranche of its $100 million share buyback program. This follows the completion of the first tranche, which was announced on December 23, 2024.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by Simon O'Hara, the Company Secretary, and posted on the Nigerian Exchange website on Wednesday.

Airtel Africa's second tranche of its $100 million share buy-back program, valued at $55 million, is expected to be completed by November 19, 2025, according to the disclosure.

The company reiterated the purpose of the initiative, saying, "The sole purpose of the buy-back programme is to reduce the company's capital. As a result, all shares purchased through the buy-back programme will be cancelled."

Airtel Africa has signed an agreement with Barclays Capital Securities Limited to conduct an on-market share buyback. Barclays will act as a risk-free principal, making independent trading decisions and carrying out transactions under pre-approved terms set by Airtel's shareholders.

In addition to reducing share capital, the buyback is expected to strengthen Airtel Africa's balance sheet by reducing debt exposure and cash obligations for capital maintenance.

After completing its initial $100 million share buyback program in March 2024, Airtel Africa announced the start of a second phase on December 23, 2024.

The second phase, according to the company, will be executed in two tranches.

The first tranche of the $100 million programme, which began on December 23, 2024, is scheduled to end on April 24, 2025, with a $50 million cap.

The second tranche, which begins on May 14, 2025, will complete the remainder of the programme.

Airtel Africa's financial results for the period ending March 31, 2025 show a strong recovery, with a pre-tax profit of $661 million, reversing a $63 million loss in 2024.

Profit after tax rose to $328 million, a significant improvement over the previous year's loss of $89 million, which was primarily due to derivative and foreign exchange losses in Nigeria.

In response to the results, the CEO stated, "Sunil Taldar.

"An improving operating environment and focused execution contributed to strong momentum in our financial results, with constant currency revenue growth reaching 23.2% in Q4 2025."

"Part of this acceleration in the last quarter was also driven by the tariff adjustment in Nigeria."