Bharti Airtel's Q2 FY25 net profit surged 167 percent to Rs 3,593 rore from Rs 1,341 crore a year earlier driven by strong performance in its India and Africa businesses. Despite the substantial growth, the net profit figure missed Street expectations of Rs 4,398 crore, based on Bloomberg's poll of brokerage estimates. The company’s revenue from operations for the July-September quarter rose 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 41,473 crore.

Bharti Airtel's India revenue grew 16.9 percent on-year to Rs 31,561 crore,led by a robust 18.5 percent growth in the mobile services segment, which benefited from tariff hikes and increased smartphone penetration. The average revenue per user (ARPU) for its India mobile segment rose to Rs 233, up from Rs 203 a year ago, amid Bharti Airtel’s ongoing efforts to optimise customer mix and premiumise its base.

Ahead of the results announcement, Bharti Airtel share price ended marginally down by 0.16 percent at Rs 1,663.35 on NSE on 28 October, amid a strong market.

Strong financial and operational performance

Airtel’s consolidated EBITDA for the quarter reached Rs 22,021 crore, up 12 percent on-year,with an EBITDA margin of 53.1 percent. The India business posted an even higher EBITDA margin of 54.8 percent, up by 86 basis points on-year, underscoring the company’s operational efficiency. Consolidated EBIT increased 10.7 percent on-year to Rs 10,996 crore, while the EBIT margin stood at 26.5 percent.

Airtel’s overall customer base spanned around 563 million across 15 countries, with India accounting for approximately 407 million and Africa 157 million. Mobile data consumption among Indian users surged 22.6 percent, with average monthly usage reaching 23.9 GB per customer.

The company added 4.2 million smartphone data customers in India during the quarter, reaching 75 percent of its mobile customer base, and reported postpaid net additions of 0.8 million.

Network expansion, deleveraging financials

Airtel also continued its network expansion, adding around 5,000 towers and 15,200 mobile broadband stations during the quarter. Additionally, Airtel deployed new spectrum acquired in June to enhance connectivity across key regions.

As part of its financial strategy, Airtel prepaid Rs 8,465 crore towards its deferred spectrum liabilities from 2016, which had an interest rate of 9.3 percent, contributing to a Net Debt-EBITDA ratio of 2.50 as of September 30, 2024.

Airtel MD Gopal Vittal said, “Our balance sheet remains solid, supported by cash generation and continued deleveraging. However, the industry still requires further tariff repair for sustained investments, with ROCE for India at only 11 percent.”

Airtel's business segments beyond mobile also showed healthy growth. The Homes business reported a 17.3 percent revenue increase, driven by the addition of 583,000 new customers, bringing its customer base to 8.6 million. Airtel Business, which focuses on enterprise solutions, saw a 10.7 percent on-year revenue rise, while Digital TV grew 1 percent in a competitive market.

Africa's revenue, measured in constant currency, rose 20.8 percent on-year, although EBITDA and EBIT margins in the region declined by 201 basis points and 226 basis points respectively, affected by macroeconomic pressures.

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