Bharti Airtel announces consolidated results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2023. The telecommunications giant posted quarterly revenues of Rs 37,044 crore, a growth of 7.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Airtel attributed this revenue to the performance of its India operations. The India business segment posted a quarterly revenue of Rs 26,995 crore, marking an increase of 10.9 percent year-on-year, the mobile services within India noted an 11.0 percent year-on-year surge in revenues with the addition of strong 4G/5G customers and a notable rise in the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
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Airtel reported a consolidated EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) of Rs 19,665 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 53.1 percent, up 176 basis points year-on-year. The India business segment posted an EBITDA of Rs 14,561 crore, with an EBITDA margin at 53.9 percent, up 214 basis points year-on-year.
Net Income
Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated net income (before exceptional items) of Rs 2,960 crore, representing a growth of 44.2 percent year-on-year. However, the consolidated net income (after exceptional items) stood at Rs 1,341 crore, showing a decrease of 37.5 percent year-on-year.
Data Customers
The company also showcased strong operational indicators, with 4G/5G data customers witnessing an increase of 27.2 million year-on-year and 7.7 million quarter-on-quarter, accounting for 69 percent of the overall mobile customer base. Notably, Airtel said the quarter also recorded the highest-ever postpaid net additions, totalling 1.0 million in Q2’24.
ARPU and Data Consumption
Moreover, mobile ARPU witnessed a positive uptrend, increasing to Rs 203 in Q2'24 as compared to Rs 190 in Q2'23. Mobile data consumption showed remarkable growth, surging by 19.6 percent year-on-year, with average data usage per data customer at 21.7 GBs per month.
The Homes business added an all time hight 471,000 new customer additions, taking the total user base to 6.9 million. The Digital TV customer base further solidified its position, reaching 15.7 million.
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In a statement, Gopal Vittal, MD, Bharti Airtel, said: "This has been yet another quarter of solid revenue growths and improved margins. Our India revenue continues to gain momentum and grew sequentially by 2.4 percent. Our consolidated revenue however was impacted by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. Consolidated EBITDA margins expanded to 53.1 percent supported by a strong war on Waste program."
"We added 7.7 million 4G/5G net adds and exited the quarter with an industry leading ARPU of 203. Our Postpaid and Homes businesses continued their strong growth trajectory as we added the highest ever net adds in both these segments in any single quarter. Our performance is under pinned by a simple and consistent strategy of focusing on quality customers and delivering the best experience to them in a seamless digital way," Gopal added.
