Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, has the potential to tread overseas in a larger capacity after two to three years. Bharti Enterprises chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal, said that for the next 2-3 years, the focus for Airtel will be India business. However, once the business is well settled here, and the cashflows grow even further, then the company could tread overseas said Mittal. For the unaware, Bharti Enterprises is the parent company of Bharti Airtel. Currently, the growth phase for India will continue for the telecom operator.
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The focus will be on rolling out 5G in more parts of the country and filling the connectivity gaps with 4G. According to an ET report, Mittal said, "In 2-3 years, I would say Airtel's profile that we can project looks pretty strong to us, and at that point in time you never say never! Who knows what the Board of Airtel will decide at that point in time with a very large cash flow, and India's capex becoming smaller within the size of Ebitda. There could be opportunities globally for Airtel to go, so I will not rule that out."
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Note that Airtel already operates internationally in many countries. Airtel Africa is the second-largest telecom operator in the region. Airtel's international presence spans 17 countries. The company is continuously improving returns on investment in India, and by moderating capex levels from FY25, the EBITDA margin should improve significantly for Airtel.
Bharti Global, owned by Bharti Enterprises, recently announced the acquistion of a 24.5% stake in British telecom operator BT. The company can acquire a 9.99% stake right away, however, the remaining 14.51% stake would be acquired after regulatory approvals. This deal will help in boosting innovation in the AI and 5G areas, said the company in a release.
