India's Bharti Airtel misses Q4 revenue estimates on soft 4G user growth

BHARTI Airtel, India’s No 2 telecom carrier by subscribers, on Tuesday (May 16) reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations, as 4G user growth and per-user revenue stagnated.

The company’s consolidated revenue from operations rose to 360.1 billion rupees (S$5.9 billion) for the quarter ended Mar 31, from 315 billion rupees a year ago, it said in an exchange filing.

Analysts, on an average, had expected a revenue of 365.52 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Analysts have flagged concerns of slowing revenue growth due to the absence of tariff hikes in recent years, to cushion the load of telecom firms spending billions of dollars on buying 5G spectrum at an auction last August.

Airtel’s net profit rose nearly 50 per cent per cent to 30.06 billion rupees, beating analysts’ estimate of 25.24 billion rupees despite a rise in costs. Its total expenses rose nearly 12 per cent, led by higher marketing and network operating expenses.

The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance indicator for telecom firms, was at 193 rupees, flat from the previous quarter, but up 8.4 per cent year on year.

Last month, market leader Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of conglomerate Reliance Industries, said its fourth-quarter ARPU stood at 178.8 rupees, an increase of only 0.3 per cent from a quarter ago and a 6.7 per cent climb from a year ago.

Airtel said it added 7.4 million 4G data customers in the March quarter, with total 4G subscribers now at 224.12 million, an increase of 3.4 per cent from a quarter ago. It had posted a 3.1 per cent increase in 4G users in the December quarter.

The company declared a final dividend of 4 rupees per share for the 2023 financial year.

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India’s Bharti Airtel beats Q3 revenue view on rise in 4G users

Shares of the company closed 1.2 per cent lower at 787.35 rupees ahead of the results. They declined 7 per cent in the March quarter. REUTERS