Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported an 11.2% sequential rise in consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter, although earnings missed Bloomberg estimates, while revenue and operating profit exceeded Street expectations on the back of continued premiumisation in its mobile business and steady growth in broadband and enterprise services.
Consolidated net profit stood at Rs 8,167 crore against the Bloomberg estimate of Rs 8,699 crore. The reported profit included a net exceptional gain of about Rs 110 crore. Excluding exceptional items, net profit rose to Rs 8,057 crore from Rs 7,245 crore in the March quarter.
Consolidated revenue increased 5.7% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 58,539 crore, ahead of the Bloomberg estimate of Rs 56,896 crore, while Ebitda rose 4.9% to Rs 33,599 crore, surpassing the estimate of Rs 32,510 crore. Ebitda margin eased to 57.4% from 57.8% in the preceding quarter.
The India business, excluding passive infrastructure services, continued to deliver steady growth. Revenue rose 4.2% sequentially to Rs 39,637 crore. India mobile revenue increased 3.8% over the March quarter to Rs 29,518 crore, driven by continued premiumisation and higher customer spending. The homes business sustained its momentum with revenue rising 4.4% quarter-on-quarter, while Airtel Business posted 3.2% sequential growth, supported by continued demand for connectivity and digital services.
Operational metrics remained healthy during the quarter. Average revenue per user (Arpu) rose to Rs 264 from Rs 257 in the March quarter. Total voice traffic on the network stood at 1,276,131 million minutes, while average voice usage moderated to 1,135 minutes per customer per month from 1,150 minutes.
Total data carried on the network increased to 31,062 million GB from 27,985 million GB in the preceding quarter, while average monthly data consumption per user rose to 34.4 GB from 31.4 GB. Airtel’s 4G/5G customer base expanded by about 5 million during the quarter to 301.8 million, accounting for 80.5% of its mobile subscriber base compared with 80.1% three months earlier. The company also recorded its highest-ever quarterly postpaid customer additions of 1 million.
“We delivered another quarter of broad-based growth across India and Africa, supported by continued mobile premiumisation and strong momentum in our homes and enterprise businesses,” Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said.