This archive report was first published on 10 January 2022.
Published on January 10, 2022, Airtel Kenya's financial struggles have been a long-standing issue, with the firm relying heavily on loans from its parent company to stay in operation.
The firm's latest filings reveal that loans from Bharti Airtel Kenya BV increased to Sh. 52.2 billion in the year ended December 2020, up from Sh. 46.6 billion in the previous year.
Despite generating revenue of Sh. 26.54 billion in 2020, up from Sh. 21.2 billion in 2019, Airtel Kenya's losses doubled to Sh. 5.9 billion in 2020 from Sh. 2.78 billion in 2019.
Furthermore, the firm's net liability position widened to Sh. 43.7 billion in the period, deepening its insolvent position.
Airtel Kenya has also accumulated significant debt from international banks, totaling Sh. 10.9 billion, with interest charges of three percent per annum.
The firm's struggles to stay profitable have been ongoing since Safaricom took the lead in the market over a dozen years ago, with Airtel Kenya being sold multiple times and rebranded from Kencel, Celtel, and Zain.
