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Earnings Q1FY23: 5-G Ready Bharti Airtel Posts 467% Increase In Net Profit To Rs 1,607 Cr; Indian Business Performed Solid On New Customer Additions, Improved ARPU

bharti airtel

Source: Financial Express

Bharti Airtel Ltd, on Monday, posted a 467 percent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,607 crore for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 on the back of subscriber growth and a higher revenue per user. Notably, sequentially, the net profit fell 20 percent.

The telecommunication service company saw 22 percent YoY and 4 percent QoQ growth in consolidated revenue to Rs 32,805 crore. In comparison with the last fiscal’s results, Airtel, during the quarter, added a substantial number of subscribers and improved average revenue per user (ARPU). Its ARPU grew 2.8 percent sequentially and 25.3 percent on year to Rs 183.

“This has been another solid quarter, and we continue to deliver strong and sustained growth at 4.5 percent sequentially,” MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said.

Revenue Fragmentation:

The Indian business revenue improved by 23.8 percent YoY to Rs 23,319 crore, of that revenue from mobile services rose 27.4 percent YoY, and Airtel business jumped 15.2 percent.

The new customers boosted home business revenue by 41.9 percent YoY, with the second-largest telecom operator in India having a 36.2 crore customer base. The homes business saw an addition of 14 lakh customers during the quarter, with the digital TV customer base coming at 1.74 crore.

The revenue from the African business in constant currency rose by 15.3 percent over the year, and now the telecom company has 13.16 crore subscribers in the continent.

Operations:

In the last year, the company added 2 crore 4G customers to its network, of which 45 lakh customers joined this June quarter. “Our enterprise and homes business has strong momentum and delivered strong double-digit growth, improving the diversity of the overall portfolio. Airtel’s strategy of winning with quality customers continues to yield good results with an industry-beating ARPU at Rs 183,” Vittal added.

Mobile data consumption in the June-ended quarter grew 16.6 percent on the year, with consumption per mobile data at 19.5 GB per month.
The transactions via Airtel Payments Bank also increased by 65 percent over the year.

The company in the first quarter added 8,000 towers to support its coverage and took measures to improve network quality and customer experience.

In the spectrum auction that ended last week, Airtel purchased 19,867.8 MHz of spectrum for Rs 43,040 across various bands.


“Specifically on the 700 MHz band, we have enough mid-band spectrum to cater to the 5G rollout, and hence have been judicious on acquiring very high-cost sub-GHz spectrum. Our long-term spectrum acquisition strategy has ensured that we can offer the best-in-class 5G experience at the lowest cost of ownership with the most power-efficient solution,” the company said.

With a view to commence rolling out 5G services in August this year, Bharti Airtel inked 5G network pacts with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung.

“As India gets ready to launch 5G, we are well positioned to raise the bar on innovation and we are also confident of meeting the emerging needs of discerning customers looking for speed, coverage, and latency,” Vittal said.

Overall Profitability:

The consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) grew 26 percent YoY to Rs 16,604 crore, while the EBITDA margins expanded by 150 bps to 50.6 percent. For the Indian business, EBITDA grew by 23.8 percent YoY to Rs 23,319 crore, with the EBITDA margin improving 170 bps to 51 percent. The EBITDA margin improved 54 bps on year at 48.8 percent for the African business.

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