In a notable financial performance, Bharti Airtel has reported a significant increase in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), rising by 9.8% from the previous quarter to reach ₹27,009 crore. Year-on-year, this marks an impressive growth of 39.5%. The company’s EBITDA margin also saw an uptick, climbing to 57.2%, a rise of two percentage points from 55.1% in the previous quarter.

Strong Revenue Growth from India Operations

India remains a powerhouse for Airtel, contributing ₹36,735 crore to the overall revenue, which is a 6% increase sequentially and a robust 20.6% year-on-year growth. The mobile services sector in India specifically saw revenues rise by 1.32% quarter-on-quarter and 21% year-on-year, amounting to ₹26,618 crore. However, the average revenue per user (ARPU) has plateaued at ₹245 after a series of previous increases, as the effects of the July 2024 tariff hikes began to diminish.

Gopal Vittal, the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, commented, “Despite having two fewer days in the quarter, our India mobile business saw a sequential growth of 1.3%. This growth reflects a trend towards premium services. We successfully added 6.6 million new smartphone users while maintaining an industry-leading ARPU of ₹245.”

Subscriber Base and Customer Retention

Airtel’s total mobile subscriber count climbed to 361.6 million, a notable increase from 356.6 million in the previous quarter. The company also experienced a reduction in monthly churn rates, decreasing from 2.5% to 2.3%.

• 4G/5G user growth: Added 6.6 million users, now totaling 276.1 million.
• Average data usage per customer: Stands at 25.1 GB, although it trails behind Reliance Jio’s 33.6 GB.
• Overall data consumption: Increased by 4.5% quarter-on-quarter, totaling 21.1 billion GB.

In voice services, Airtel continues to lead the sector with an average of 1,160 minutes per user each month, a rise from 1,135 minutes in the previous quarter, surpassing Jio’s 1,013 minutes. Additionally, the company added 0.6 million postpaid users, bringing the total to 25.2 million.

Enterprise Segment and Home Services Performance

While the enterprise segment saw a slight decline to ₹5,646 crore, Vittal indicated that Airtel is strategically revamping its offerings. The firm is investing in digital solutions such as cloud services, IoT, and security, while gradually phasing out lower-margin segments like wholesale voice. Although this transition might affect short-term revenues, it is expected to have a minimal impact on profit margins.

On a positive note, revenue from the home services division grew by 5.4% to ₹1,509 crore. Airtel has been actively expanding its home broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA) services, adding 674,000 subscribers in the quarter, which brings the total to 8.6 million.

This impressive financial performance showcases Bharti Airtel’s resilience and strategic growth in the dynamic telecom landscape of India. For more details on the company’s latest developments, check out related articles on industry trends and future projections.