Bharti Airtel Q4FY24 results: Net profit drops 31% to Rs 2,071 crore

Q4 result : Airtel consolidated net profit slides 31% to Rs. 2,071 Cr

Strap: Average revenue per user inches up to Rs. 209, from Rs. 208 in Q3

SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY

New Delhi, 14 May

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported a 31.1 percent fall in consolidated net profit (attributable to owners) for the fourth quarter (January-March) of FY24, which fell to Rs. 2,071 crore, impacted by the devaluation of African currencies, particularly Nigerian Naira. Sequentially, the net profit fell 15.17 percent from Rs. 2,442.2 crore.

The telecom service provider saw its annual profits fall to Rs. 7,460 crore in FY24, down from Rs. 8345 crore in FY23.

While strong 4G and 5G customer additions continued, the consolidated revenue from operations came in at Rs. 37,599 crore in Q4, marking a 4.41 percent increase on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis. Other income in the quarter under review stood at Rs. 316.9 crore.

The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance metric for telecom firms, rose 8.2 percent Y-o-Y to Rs. 209, up from Rs. 193 in Q4 FY23. However, it rose only marginally from Rs. 208 in the preceding quarter. Airtel’s ARPU is the highest among the country’s top telecom players, beating Jio’s Rs. 181.7 and Vodafone Idea’s Rs. 145 (as last reported by both companies).

The company’s India revenue for Q4 was Rs. 28,513 crore, up 12.9 percent Y-o-Y. Mobile services in India, which accounts for a significant portion of the revenue, also grew at 12.9 percent, up from 11.8 percent and 10.9 percent growth seen in the preceding two quarters.

The telco’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) during the quarter were Rs. 19,590 crore, while the Ebitda margin was 52.1 per cent.

The India business posted an EBITDA of Rs.15,293 crore, with a margin of 53.6 percent.

 “Consolidated performance was impacted primarily by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. We added 7.8 million smart phone customers and delivered an industry leading ARPU of Rs. 209. Our relentless focus on improving customer experience has resulted in 20 percent churn reduction during the quarter,” said Managing Director Gopal Vittal.

Even at this ARPU, the return on capital employed however, continues to be low due to absence of tariff hikes in the industry, Vittal added.

Stronger subscriber growth

The net addition in the premier postpaid segment stood at 0.8 million subscribers in the latest quarter, as compared to the 0.9 million subscribers in Q3, and 1 million in Q2. The company had a total 51.2 million users in the segment, including internet of things (IoT) users.

On a consolidated basis, 4G/5G data customers were up by an annual 28.6 million, now making up 72 percent of the overall mobile customer base. The telco’s homes business added 331,000 new users in the last one year.

Mobile data consumption increased by 25 percent Y-O-Y with consumption per customer rising to 22.6 GB per month in India.

Airtel rolled out 10,500 new towers over the quarter to further strengthen network coverage. The company has rolled out 43,102 towers in FY24.

First Published: May 14 2024 | 10:40 PM IST