ADDIS ABABA, July 23 – Ethio Telecom reported revenue of 215.82 billion birr (approximately $1.3 Billion) for the financial year ended June 30, 2026, as growing demand for data and digital services lifted turnover by 33.2 percent and reshaped the state-owned operator’s revenue mix.
The century-old operator presented its annual financial performance at a press briefing on Thursday, saying it achieved 99.7 percent of its revenue target for the year. The results covered the first year of its three-year “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028 Strategy”.
Data and internet services became Ethio Telecom’s largest source of revenue, contributing 31.1 percent of total income, overtaking mobile voice, which accounted for 23.5 percent. Value-added services generated 9.1 percent of revenue, followed by international services at eight percent and enterprise solutions at 7.1 percent.
The shift marks a departure from the operator’s traditional dependence on voice services, reflecting rising demand for mobile data, broadband connectivity and digital platforms.
Profitability also improved during the year. Operating profit rose by 47.5 percent to 92.9 billion birr from 63 billion birr a year earlier, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 51.9 percent.
Ethio Telecom attributed the gains to higher revenue, tighter cost controls and operational efficiencies. Its Do2Save programme generated 14.61 billion birr in efficiency gains during the year, with 96 percent coming from cost optimisation measures and the remainder from revenue enhancement initiatives.
The operator expanded its customer base to 90.12 million, surpassing its annual target of 88.63 million and representing growth of 8.3 percent from the previous year. Active mobile subscribers reached 72.09 million, while mobile data users increased by 10.7 percent to 51.53 million.
Fixed broadband subscriptions reached one million, bringing the total number of data and internet users to 52.5 million.
Telebirr, the company’s mobile financial services platform, continued to expand, reaching 60.6 million registered users. The platform processed 2.61 billion transactions with a total value of 4.19 trillion birr during the financial year.
Digital lending through telebirr totalled 19.51 billion birr disbursed to 5.65 million customers, while digital savings reached 18.75 billion birr across 1.3 million customers.
Total assets increased by 27 percent to 420 billion birr, supported by continued investment in network infrastructure, technology assets and digital capabilities.
