Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) may see their mobile revenues going down QoQ at the end of Q4 FY23. This is largely because of two days less in this quarter compared to the previous one and the absence of tariff hikes, said a recent ICICI Securities report. In addition to this, the subscriber base of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio is likely going to grow during the quarter, while VIL's is likely to decline. The brokerage firm said that it expects Jio and Airtel's revenues to grow 1.8% and 0.8% QoQ, respectively.
Jio has grabbed higher incremental revenue probably because it benefits from the subscriber addition that happened because Airtel increased the base tariffs from Rs 99 to Rs 155. At the same time, VIL's revenue from mobile services is expected to decline by 1% QoQ. The EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) margin expansion is likely going to be limited or decline because of the higher network operating cost owing to the rapid 5G deployment.
Read More - Reliance and Jio Raise Another $2 Billion in Syndicated Loan after Raising $3 Billion
The report from ICICI Securities added that Bharti Airtel may see its subscriber base going up by 2 million this quarter while VIL's may decrease by 4 million. Reliance Jio, on the other hand, is expected to report a subscriber base growth of 6 million users. The average revenue per user (ARPU) growth is likely to be flattish because of two fewer days in the quarter.
Indus Towers may see a gain in performance owing to the rise in tenancy adds and higher 5G loading. The tower company may also see an expansion of EBITDA on account of the absence of any provision for doubtful debts that are related to VIL. Tariffs hikes may have helped the telcos see an expansion in revenues, but that is likely to come in the quarter after the IPL now.
