Airtel has refuted claims that the company is exiting Kenya. The telecom company released a statement indicating that they are in fact planning to increase their customer base and are not in a hurry to exit.
Below is a statement from the company:
Nairobi, Kenya December 12, 2017…This is in reference to a few articles in certain sections of the media (based on another media story), mentioning that Airtel is looking at exiting Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. We would like to categorically deny these reports which are completely incorrect, unfounded and devoid of any facts. Airtel has consistently stated that it is open to consolidation opportunities, either through acquisitions or mergers, to create sustainable businesses in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. It was never stated that Airtel was looking at exiting these markets. As stated in the past, our focus continues to be either the No. 1 or No. 2 operator in each country where we operate, through market consolidation.
To this effect, Airtel acquired assets in Uganda and CongoB (Warid), Kenya (Yu) and consolidated operations in Ghana (Millicom). The customers in these markets now enjoy a superior and wider network, affordable voice & data services, and better customer care. This validates our stand that in-country consolidations have resulted in achieving better market positions, thereby benefiting customers and the industry as a whole.
To underscore our commitment in Kenya, we have embarked on investing heavily in all technologies (2G, 3G and 4G) and are putting up over 300 sites over the next few months to improve coverage even further.
Our financial performance continues to be strong in Africa. In constant currency terms, Airtel Africa revenues grew by 2.8% Y-o-Y with net revenues growing 6.3% on the back of increase in data penetration. Data traffic grew by 83.8% Y-o-Y. Airtel Money continues to lead with transaction values growing over 30% Y-o-Y. Our efforts to create a profitable business model for Africa continues and we have delivered EBITDA margin of 32.1%, with margins up 9.1% Y-o-Y. This has also now enabled the business to sustainably generate positive free cash flows. We remain focused on accelerating growth through the three pillars of increasing mobile penetration, growing the data business and expanding the Airtel money base.
