Bharti Airtel is expected to report a 39.4 percent sequential rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,581.3 crore for the quarter ended December, according to an average of estimates of seven brokerages polled by Moneycontrol.
The company will announce its December quarter earnings on February 8.
The telecom operator’s consolidated revenues are likely to grow 5.2 percent on quarter to Rs 29,801.1 crore for the reporting quarter aided by the tariff hike undertaken by the company during the quarter.
The company’s revenues are expected to rise despite brokerages suggesting a loss of net subscribers on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Kotak Institutional Equities sees a loss of 1.5 million subscribers during the quarter.
The operating performance, however, is expected to be strong. Analysts expect consolidated operating profit of the company to grow 6.6 percent on-quarter to Rs 14,721 crore.
The consolidated operating margin of the company is likely to expand to 49.1-50 percent from 48.8 percent in the previous quarter, reflecting the benefits from the tariff hike.
Bharti Airtel is expected to report average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 161.5-168 per user as against Rs 153 in the previous quarter, implying 5.2-9.8 percent growth.
The key focus areas for Bharti Airtel’s results would be subscriber behaviour after the recent tariff hikes, timing of next tariff hikes, and network capex, brokerage firm Jefferies India said in a preview note.
The company's results will also be boosted by the strong performance of the subsidiary Airtel Africa. Airtel Africa’s net profit jumped 54 percent on-year to $180 million in the December quarter, with revenues rising 18 percent to $1.22 billion.
The African subsidiary, which recently became a part of the FTSE 100 index, saw its ARPU expand to $3.3 per user from $2.9 in the year-ago quarter.
Shares of Bharti Airtel were down 2.2 percent at Rs 704.5 on the National Stock Exchange.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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