Bharti Airtel Records 54% Surge in Consolidated Net Profit to Rs 2,442.2 Crore
Bharti Airtel, in the December quarter, witnessed a remarkable 54% increase in its consolidated net profit, reaching Rs 2,442.2 crore. This significant rise was primarily attributed to the growth in high-value customers.
To maintain its prepaid mobile services, Airtel implemented a rate hike of 56% in January 2023, requiring customers to pay at least Rs 155 for approximately a month-long service.
Gopal Vittal, Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, has hinted at the necessity for further rate increases in mobile service charges, citing a low return on investment of 9.4% for the company.
In comparison to a profit of Rs 1,588.2 crore recorded in the same period last year, the company’s regulatory filing revealed a substantial increase in profit. However, the net profit of Rs 3,200 crore and revenues of Rs 37,900 crore, as anticipated by the market, were not met. Consequently, the Airtel stock witnessed a decline of 3.25%, falling to Rs 1,113.10 on Monday.
On a standalone basis, net profit amounted to Rs 1,414.4 crore in the third quarter, marking a significant improvement from a loss of Rs 3,222.3 crore incurred a year ago. The previous loss was primarily due to an exceptional charge of Rs 4,276.4 crore related to the impairment of investments in a joint venture.
Despite the devaluation of African currencies during the period, the consolidated revenue from operations for the ongoing fiscal’s third quarter increased by 5.8% to Rs 37,899.5 crore from Rs 35,804.4 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year.
Gopal Vittal highlighted, “Revenue from India business sustained its momentum and grew sequentially by 3%, while consolidated revenue was impacted by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira and Malawian Kwacha.”
The total customer base grew by approximately 8% year-on-year to 55.1 crore in the December quarter, with Indian subscribers reaching 39.7 crore, marking a 7.5% increase. Additionally, the average revenue per user (ARPU) in the country witnessed a 7.7% increase to Rs 208 from Rs 193 a year ago.
Gopal Vittal emphasized, “We remain on course with our strategy of premiumisation that helped us add 7.4 million 4G/5G customers and exit the quarter with an industry-leading ARPU of Rs 208.”
Furthermore, the company reported the addition of 2.82 crore 4G/5G data customers to its network over the last year, with an average data usage per data customer standing at 22GB per month.
In India, Airtel’s 4G and 5G customer base increased by 13% year-on-year and 3.1% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 24.49 crore, constituting 73.3% of its total customer base.