Bharti Airtel Q2 results: Net profit falls 37% to Rs 1,341 cr on one-time charge; ARPU rises to Rs 203

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd on Tuesday reported 37% decline in net profit (attributable to owners) at Rs 1,341 crore for the quarter ending September 30, 2023 due to one-time charge of Rs 1,570 crore. It reported consolidated net profit of Rs 2,145 crore in the year-ago period. 

However, the firm's revenue rose 7% to Rs 37,044 crore in Q2FY24 as against Rs 34,527 crore in Q2FY23. 

The firm's average revenue per user rose to Rs 203 in Q2FY24 as against Rs 190 in Q2FY23. 

“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%. Our consolidated revenue however was impacted by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. Consolidated EBITDA margins expanded to 53.1% 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," said Gopal Vittal, MD, Bharti Airtel. 

On Tuesday, Bharti Airtel's scrip on BSE closed 1.3% lower at Rs 914.05.

Capex for the quarter is at Rs 9,206 crore, said the telco. Mobile data consumption rose by 20% on an annual basis in September quarter, consumption per customer at 21.7 GB per month. The firm's overall customer base stands at 540 million across 16 countries.

The latest quarter's results included a one-time charge of Rs 1,350 crore as interest payable on an additional tax provision amount related to a Supreme Court ruling on variable licence fee.

It also included a Rs 220-crore charge related to re-assessment of regulatory levies.

Airtel's ARPU is the highest among India's top telecom players, beating Jio's Rs 181.7, and well above Vodafone Idea's Rs 142.