Bharti Airtel shares surged 4.5 per cent Friday after the company posted its Q1FY20 results on yesterday. At 9:33 AM on BSE, shares of Bharti Airtel were trading at Rs 333.90 per share, up 3.07 per cent from the previous close. The telecom major reported a loss of Rs 2,866 crore for Apr-Jun of the financial year 2019-20. Bharti Airtel posted a consolidated profit of Rs 97.30 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The company reported a revenue of Rs 20,737.9 crore in the quarter ending Jun 30 as compared with Rs 19,799 crore in the year-ago period.
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The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at Rs 8492.6 crore and the company’s margin was registered at 41 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal. The company’s India Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), a key performance metric of mobile phone operators, stood at Rs 129 against Rs 123 in the March quarter of FY19.
“With consolidation done, key is the improvement in pricing which hinges on Jio’s aggressiveness. Airtel, however, seem to be on superior trajectory than Vodafone Idea, with the second quarter of wireless revenues growth. Post recent fund raising and Africa monetization and further potential through tower sale, it is better placed to tide over the interim challenging period,” ICICI Securities said in a report.
Foreign brokerage CLSA has maintained a BUY on Bharti Airtel stocks with a target price of Rs 390. It said the company missed the consolidated EBITDA estimates on higher-than-expected access and network costs. The brokerage firm has lowered the company’s revenue estimates for FY20-21 by 2-5 per cent on higher costs. While, Morgan Stanley has maintained equal weight on Bharti Airtel’s stock with a target price of Rs 360. It said the company’s Indian wireless revenue and adjusted EBITDA was largely in line with our estimates.