Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom company, recorded a 91 percent surge in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,588 crore for the quarter ended December 2022 from Rs 830 crore a year back, helped by improved realisation along with strong 4G customer additions during the year.
However, sequentially, the telecom major saw a drop of 26 percent in net profit. The reported profit also missed analysts' projections who were expecting around 155 percent YoY growth for the third quarter.
Total revenue stood at Rs 35,804 crore, up 20 percent from Rs 29,867 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue was up 4 percent sequentially, Bharti Airtel said in an exchange filing.
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On a consolidated basis, which includes numbers from its operations in 16 countries, Bharti Airtel's voice traffic grew 5 percent while data traffic jumped 24 percent. The total customer base was at 51.1 crore, up 5 percent YoY.
Consolidated EBITDA was at Rs 18,601 crore during the quarter, up 25 percent on-year and 5 percent on-quarter. EBITDA margin for the quarter was at 52.0 percent as against 49.9 percent in the corresponding quarter last year and 51.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Its India average revenue per user (ARPU) per month was at Rs 193 during the quarter, the company said, rising 2 percent sequentially and 18 percent annually.
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Commenting on the performance, Managing Director, Gopal Vittal said, “We have delivered another quarter of consistent and competitive growth across all our businesses. Revenue grew sequentially by 3.7 percent, while EBITDA margin expanded to 52.0 percent. Our strategy of winning quality customers has helped us add 6.4 Mn 4G customers and exit the quarter with an industry leading ARPU of Rs 193. Postpaid, Enterprise, Homes as well as our Africa business sustained their momentum while the DTH business showed signs of growth in an industry that continues to be under pressure. Our overall performance is testimony to the breadth and diversity of our portfolio that spans across both geographies as well as businesses."
He also added that the 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.
Overall India revenues – including mobile services, home services, digital TV services and B2C services – for the quarter stood at Rs 24,962 crore, up 19 percent vis-à-vis Rs 24,333 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. India's EBITDA margin also expanded for the quarter and was at 52.7 percent as compared to 49.8 percent in the corresponding quarter last year and 51.8 percent in the previous quarter.
For the mobile services segment in India, which is the biggest segment for the company, revenues for the quarter grew by 20.8 percent YoY which the company said was led by continued 4G customer addition and increase in ARPU.
The company reported a Net Debt-EBITDA ratio (annualised) and including the impact of leases for the quarter at 2.82 times as compared to 2.96 times in the previous quarter.
Bharti Airtel shares closed 0.37 percent lower on the NSE at Rs 786.35 a piece on February 7.
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