Reliance Jio, India’s number one telecom operator, might be worried about the rising revenue market share (RMS) of Bharti Airtel. The higher the average revenue per user (ARPU) figure for Airtel, the better will be the revenues. It is most likely that Airtel will outperform both Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) when it comes to RMS gains in the coming quarters. Gopal Vittal, CEO, Bharti Airtel, has already expressed that there’s another tariff hike slated for 2022. With this, Airtel might be able to increase ARPU to Rs 200 levels.
Bharti Airtel to Outperform Jio, Vi With the Help of Reducing SIM Consolidation
During the Q3 FY22, Airtel’s revenues from the mobile business of India grew 5.9% to Rs 16,100 crore. This was a better figure than Jio and Vodafone Idea, both of whom reported around 3.3% growth in the same area. With another tariff hike in the future and the reducing SIM consolidation in the coming months, Airtel is likely to get the lead in gaining higher revenue market share (RMS), says ICICI Securities.
The SIM consolidation levels are high right now because of the recent tariff hikes. But its effects will subside as low ARPU customers will be leaving the telco’s network.
Vittal said Airtel’s RMS is at a lifetime high at nearly 36.9%. This isn’t too far behind Jio’s RMS of 40.2%, reported in the second quarter of FY22. All in all, Bharti Airtel is in a great position right now as the telco has started generating free cash flows, which will help in going ahead with organic deleveraging.
Bharti Airtel’s ARPU rose to Rs 163 during Q3 FY22 from Rs 153 in Q2 FY22. Analysts expect that the full impact of the prepaid tariff hikes during the quarter will be felt in Q4 FY22, which is certainly going to boos the ARPU of the telco further. Airtel’s net profit sequentially fell 27% to Rs 830 crore during the quarter.
