ONATEL Burkina Faso Profit Falls 26% in 2025 as Costs Squeeze Margins

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCEApril 11, 2026 at 10:45 AM UTC

TLDR

ONATEL's profit saw a decline by 26% to 15.89 billion XOF in 2025 despite revenue growth driven by mobile services and accessories.
Earnings were impacted by increased external service costs, financial charges, and higher tax bill, with a negative financial result and a drop in gross operating surplus.
The subscriber base grew to 7.3 million mobile customers, with total assets reaching 324.9 billion XOF supported by infrastructure investment.

Office National des Télécommunications du Burkina Faso (BRVM: ONTBF), operating under the Moov Africa brand and 61% owned by Morocco's Maroc Telecom, posted a net profit of 15.89 billion XOF ($28.4 million) for the year ended December 31, 2025, down 26% from 21.47 billion XOF ($38.3 million) in 2024, according to provisional financial statements certified by auditors.

Revenue grew 3% to 146.18 billion XOF ($261 million) from 141.84 billion XOF ($253.2 million), driven by mobile services and accessory products. But that revenue growth did not translate to the bottom line. Value added fell 8% and gross operating surplus dropped 12%, as external services costs, financial charges, and a heavier tax bill — up 29% to 6.5 billion XOF ($11.6 million) — compressed what remained after depreciation charges of 32.5 billion XOF ($58 million).

The operating result fell to 25.67 billion XOF ($45.8 million) from 33.57 billion XOF ($59.9 million) a year earlier. The financial result remained negative and worsened slightly, reflecting higher interest charges on borrowings. The subscriber base reached 7.3 million mobile customers by year-end, up 6.7%, with fixed broadband subscriptions growing 28%.

Total assets grew to 324.9 billion XOF ($580 million), supported by continued infrastructure investment. Capital expenditure on fixed and intangible assets exceeded 44.5 billion XOF ($79.5 million) during the year. Dividends paid in 2025 reached 15.16 billion XOF ($27.1 million), drawn from prior-year earnings.

The balance sheet shows net treasury of 10.65 billion XOF ($19 million) at year-end, up from 6.06 billion XOF ($10.8 million) at the close of 2024, reflecting stronger operating cash generation despite weaker earnings.

Key Takeaways

ONATEL's profit squeeze is part of a multi-year trend driven by conditions specific to Burkina Faso. The country has been under military rule since 2022, and a jihadist insurgency now disrupts operations across more than 30% of national territory — forcing the company to spend heavily on site security, maintenance in insecure zones, and network rehabilitation after vandalism. The three-player mobile market — ONATEL, Orange, and Telecel — generated a combined 490.5 billion XOF in revenue in 2024. Still, competition has intensified as voice ARPU falls with the rise of over-the-top messaging services. The military government has also imposed a new obligation requiring telecom operators with revenue above 100 billion XOF to construct permanent headquarters in Ouagadougou, adding a capital expenditure burden that is separate from network investment. Moov Africa has already broken ground on a 9 billion XOF headquarters project. Meanwhile, at the Maroc Telecom group level, Moov Africa subsidiaries collectively delivered revenue growth of 5.3% at constant exchange rates in 2025, with an EBITDA margin of 42.5% — suggesting ONATEL Burkina Faso is underperforming relative to its regional peers within the same parent group.

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