An announcement made by Airtel Africa Plc has revealed that its shareholders would get the interim dividend for the six-month period that concluded in September 2023 in Naira at a rate of N858.24 per dollar.
The Punch reported that the Nigerian Exchange Limited received a corporate notification on Tuesday with the headline “Announcement of Interim Dividend Currency Exchange Rates,” which disclosed this.
Airtel Africa, which is traded on the NGX and the LSE, announced that qualified shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 2.38 US cents per common share on December 15, 2023.
In accordance with the preferences of the shareholders, the dividend may be paid in US dollars, British pounds, or Nigerian naira.
The exchange rates that were used were 1 USD = 858.24 Nigerian naira and 1 USD = 0.8190 GB pounds. According to the telco, the currency rates that applied to the US dollar as of Friday determined the amount payable in Nigerian naira or British pounds.
In the meantime, the company reported a $13 million loss after taxes in its half-year report for the quarter that ended on September 30. The primary cause of this loss was a $471 million foreign exchange loss on financing expenses.
The telecom company reported a $151 million loss after taxes in its Q1, 2023 report. This loss was primarily caused by a $471 million foreign exchange loss recorded in finance cost before tax and $317 million after tax as a result of the depreciation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023. This impact has been classified as a non-operating exceptional item.
Despite Nigeria’s currency devaluation having an impact on reported currency revenue growth, Airtel Africa’s revenue currency increased by 19.7% to $2.62 billion at the conclusion of the review period. All sectors had double-digit revenue growth.
The Group’s income from mobile services increased by 18.3%, with voice revenue growing by 11.5% and data revenue growing by 28.1%. Revenue from mobile money increased by 30.9%. Despite inflationary cost pressures and foreign exchange headwinds, EBITDA climbed by 21.2% and 3.7% in reported currency to $1.30 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 49.6%, indicating a 70bps margin improvement over the previous period.
The devaluation of the Nigerian naira in June 2023 resulted in a foreign exchange loss of $471 million recorded in finance cost before tax and $317 million after tax, which accounted for the majority of the $13 million loss after taxes. Once more, this influence is considered an exceptional item.
