Airtel Uganda’s 2023 profits fell UGX160 bn short of IPO promises⏤ Did MTN Uganda’s resurgence cut short Airtel’s much-hyped growth trajectory? 

Airtel Uganda, the second largest telco, on March 4th, released its very first post-listing results, showing that for the first time in five years since 2019, it made an 8.8% drop in net profit⏤ from UGX 326 billion in 2022 to UGX 297 billion at the end of 2023. This is UGX160 billion short of the UGX457 billion the company promised prospective IPO investors during its listing drive in late 2023. This 8.8% drop, the company, said was ” impacted by an increase in the site running costs due to an increase in rental and energy costs on the additional…