In the January-March quarter, telecom operators net added 15 million subscribers, marking the highest addition in 12 quarters. Analysts attributed this growth to lower churn across all operators, which offset a slight moderation in gross subscriber addition.
Even as Vodafone Idea lost 2.6 million subscribers, Airtel and Jio net added 7 million and 11 million subscribers, respectively, during the January-March quarter.
At the end of the quarter, Jio had 481.8 million total subscribers, Airtel had 352.3 million subscribers, and Vodafone Idea had 212.6 million subscribers.
“Both Bharti and VIL saw a 0.5-0.7% sequential average revenue per user (Arpu) growth, despite one less day in Q4, driven by an improving subscriber mix, while Jio’s Arpu was flat quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q), impacted by unlimited 5G data and rising traction in the feature-phone segment,” said brokerage house Jefferies in a note.
The Arpu was Rs 181.7 for Jio, Rs 209 for Airtel, and Rs 146 for Vodafone Idea.
During the quarter, revenue growth for the top three operators moderated slightly to 2% sequentially and 10% y-o-y to Rs 58,600 crore. This growth was led by quarterly 4G/5G subscriber additions and an improved subscriber mix.
India’s mobile revenues continued to rise for the 18th straight quarter, reaching peak levels of $30 billion (over Rs 2.4 trillion annualised), said Jefferies.
Among operators, Reliance Jio’s revenue from operations rose 2.3% q-o-q to Rs 25,959 crore on a standalone basis. Airtel’s India revenue was up 2.5% sequentially to Rs 28,513 crore. Vodafone Idea’s revenue from operations fell 0.6% q-o-q to Rs 10,607 crore.
According to analysts, Bharti Airtel and Jio each gained an estimated 30 basis points market share, while Vodafone Idea lost 55 basis points market share.
“Vodafone Idea’s capex has been hit due to liquidity concerns but should pick up post the recent Rs 18,000 crore equity raising and Rs 2,000 crore from Birla group,” said brokerage house CLSA.
“We remain positive on Jio, but Bharti remains our pick with leading Arpu and growth,” CLSA added.
According to analysts, revenue growth for the sector during the quarter, even without a tariff hike, was surprising, although further improvements will likely require a tariff hike. Experts anticipate market share to continue shifting towards Airtel and Jio in FY25.
According to Jefferies, unlimited 5G plans are likely to limit Arpu growth, but a focus on 5G monetisation could pick up in the second half of the current year.