Airtel Money, the mobile commerce unit of Bharti Airtel, is preparing for a London listing in the second half of 2026, according to Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal. The business reported first-quarter revenue of over $400 million, growing 26% year-on-year in constant currency terms, with 64% of adults across its footprint still without access to a formal bank account.
London Listing in Focus
Vittal said the move follows Airtel Money having achieved "meaningful scale" and that the opportunity ahead remains significant. The planned listing comes as parent Bharti Airtel reported 37% profit growth in the first quarter, driven largely by consumers opting for higher-value packages, increased data usage, strong customer additions and growth across its India and Africa businesses, even as tariffs remained the same.
| Key Q1 metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Airtel Money quarterly revenue | Over $400 million |
| Airtel Money revenue growth (constant currency, YoY) | 26% |
| Bharti Airtel consolidated profit growth | 37% |
| ARPU (current quarter) | Rs 264 |
| ARPU (year ago) | Rs 250 |
| Post-paid customer additions | 10 lakh |
| Smartphone data customer additions | 50 lakh |
| Revenue-earning customer additions | 33 lakh |
| Airtel Africa stake after share swap | More than 79% |
ARPU Growth Drivers
Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 264 during the quarter from Rs 250 a year earlier. Vittal said the company's focus remains on accelerating ARPU growth through portfolio premiumisation on mobile, while continuing to maintain a competitive share of customer net additions. He identified post-paid as a key output growth lever with significant opportunity, and within pre-paid, Vittal said the company sees a large opportunity to move customers to their most relevant plans by using customer context and next-best-action capabilities on its digital stack. Handset upgrades from feature phones to smartphones, rising data usage, 5G adoption and international roaming provide meaningful headroom for ARPU expansion going forward, he said during an investor call.
Airtel Money has now achieved meaningful scale with Q1 revenue of over $400 million, growing at 26% year-on-year in constant currency terms. The opportunity ahead remains significant, with 64% of adults across our footprint still without access to a formal bank account.
— Gopal Vittal
Customer Additions and Africa Stake
Airtel India managing director and CEO Shashwat Sharma said the company added 33 lakh (3.3 million) revenue-earning customers and 50 lakh (5 million) smartphone data customers in Q1. Post-paid additions reached 10 lakh (1 million) for the quarter, the highest-level addition in any quarter for the company, with post-paid customers now accounting for more than 8% of the total customer base. The company also completed a share swap transaction in Q1 that increased its stake in Airtel Africa to more than 79%.
For treasury professionals and investors tracking emerging-market capital flows, Airtel Money's planned London listing introduces a new listed vehicle with direct exposure to mobile money in markets where a majority of adults remain unbanked. The unit's disclosed quarterly revenue of over $400 million and 26% constant-currency growth provide baseline valuation inputs ahead of the float, while the parent's sequential ARPU improvement to Rs 264 reflects the broader operational momentum across Bharti Airtel's India and Africa operations.
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