Optasia Limited, the Dubai-headquartered and JSE-listed fintech company, reported a 58.3 percent surge in net profit for the first half of 2026, powered by rapid expansion in its mobile financial services (MFS), higher monetization rates, and new commercial deployments across emerging markets. The strong momentum prompted management to raise its full-year growth targets across revenue, earnings, and cash flow.

Earnings jump across key operational metrics

The artificial intelligence-led credit analytics provider, which listed on the JSE in late 2025, posted a net profit of $36.86 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, up from $23.28 million in the corresponding period of 2025, according to its latest interim financial results. Normalised net income climbed 39.8 percent to $39.26 million from $28.09 million, while headline earnings per share rose 50.3 percent to 2.79 cents compared with 1.85 cents a year earlier.

The group’s financial acceleration was underpinned by a 58.1 percent increase in total revenue to $185.26 million, up from $117.19 million in the first half of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA rose 44.8 percent to $77.88 million from $53.79 million, maintaining an adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.0 percent. The board declared no interim dividend for the period, prioritizing cash flow generation and working capital reinvestment, which saw adjusted free cash flow expand 150.2 percent to $32.66 million.

Digital micro-loans drive revenue surge; Africa anchors growth

Mobile financial services served as the group’s primary growth engine during the half-year period. Revenue from the MFS division advanced 83.7 percent to $133.03 million, up from $72.4 million, and accounted for 72 percent of total group revenue compared with 62 percent in H1 2025. Airtime Credit Services (ACS) revenue rose 16.6 percent to $51.14 million from $43.85 million. Total distributed value across the platform grew 45.9 percent to $3.48 billion from $2.38 billion, driven by cash advances doubling to $1.91 billion.

Geographically, Africa generated the vast majority of turnover, contributing $161.52 million to revenue, up from $103.3 million in the prior period. Europe and Asia operations expanded to $21.58 million from $11.12 million, supported by user growth in Pakistan and Indonesia, while the Middle East generated $2.16 million. In Ghana, which accounted for approximately 31.5 percent of group revenue, the company successfully scaled merchant financing, while operations in Nigeria resumed across all operator partners under a multi-provider structure following temporary regulatory suspensions earlier in the period.

Strategic acquisitions expand balance sheet and utility footprint

Optasia widened its commercial ecosystem during the first half through the acquisition of Finergi Global FZCO for an aggregate consideration of $30 million, comprising $24.9 million in cash and $5.1 million in equity instruments. The buyout expands Optasia’s platform into prepaid utility credit and energy advances across several African territories, including active pre-commercial pilots in Namibia, Uganda, and Lesotho. Meanwhile, South African banking giant FirstRand increased its equity holding in the group to 26.1 percent during the period.

The group’s capital base strengthened alongside its revenue gains. Total assets rose to $364.85 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $302.17 million at the end of December 2025, supported by the recognition of $16.59 million in goodwill and higher customer receivables. Total equity expanded 33.5 percent to $166.42 million from $124.64 million, while net debt stood conservatively at $30.64 million, equivalent to 0.20 times annualized adjusted EBITDA, positioning the platform for its scheduled pipeline of deployments in the second half of the year.