Bharti Airtel’s net profit (attributable to owners) for the April-May quarter (Q1) of FY25 rose 158 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 4,159 crore, up from Rs 1,612 crore in the year-ago period. Sequentially, the profit more than doubled from Rs 2,071 crore in the preceding quarter.
While strong 4G and 5G customer additions continued, the consolidated revenue from operations came in at Rs 38,506.4 crore in Q1, inching up by 2.84 per cent Y-o-Y. Other income in the quarter under review stood at Rs 363.5 crore. The company said revenues of its group subsidiaries continued being impacted by the devaluation of African currencies, particularly the Nigerian Naira.
The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance metric for telecom firms, rose 5.5 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 211, up from Rs 200 in Q1FY24. However, it rose only marginally from Rs 209 in the preceding quarter. Airtel’s ARPU is the highest among the country’s top telecom players, beating Jio’s Rs and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 146 (as last reported by both companies).
Bharti Airtel’s revenue from the India business for Q1 was Rs 29,046 crore, up 10.1 per cent Y-o-Y. Mobile services in India, which account for a significant portion of the revenue, at Rs 22,527 crore, also grew at 10.5 per cent, up from Rs 20,392 crore in Q1FY24.
Annual growth in this segment has been accelerating over the past few years, with 12.9 per cent, 11.8 per cent, and 10.9 per cent growth seen in the preceding two quarters.
The telco’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) during the quarter were Rs 19,944 crore, while the EBITDA margin was 51.8 per cent. The India business posted an EBITDA of Rs 15,599 crore, with a margin of 53.7 per cent.
“Our stringent focus on driving cost efficiencies is reflected in strong operating leverage. Africa continues to deliver strong underlying constant currency revenue growth. India operations added 6.7 million smartphone customers and reported an improved ARPU of Rs 211,” said managing director Gopal Vittal.
The telco’s postpaid strategy yielded 0.8 million net adds. “During the quarter, we accelerated the pace of FWA services expansion across key towns. Our WiFi services (FTTH and FWA) are now available in over 1,300 cities,” Vittal said.
First Published: Aug 05 2024 | 5:22 PM IST
