Airtel Africa rose to the top of the FTSE 100 as it upped its dividend and posted sharply higher revenues and operating profits in its latest half-year.
The payments and mobile phone group posted underlying growth in revenues of nearly 20% to US$2.6bn and in underlying earnings of more than 21% to US$1.3bn.
Currency moves, especially the sliding Nigerian naira, dulled the gloss a bit lower down the statement with Airtel posting a pre-tax loss of US$13m against a profit of US$330m.
Even so, Olusegun Ogunsanya, chief executive said he expects to improve the underlying profit margin further this year compared to 2023.
Shares rose 8% to 118.5p.