NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Monday reported a 168% growth in second quarter earnings, led by higher tariffs. The telco also announced a road map for leadership transition from January 2026, that will see COO Shashwat Sharma take the role of CEO and MD, with incumbent Gopal Vittal, 58, becoming executive vice-chairman.
Airtel said consolidated net profit in July-Sept quarter stood at Rs 3,593 crore against Rs 1,341 crore a year ago. Revenues for the company were up 12% at Rs 41,473 crore, aided by strong momentum in India and growth in Africa.
Average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric that highlights operational health of mobile companies, stood at Rs 233 for the company in the quarter, compared to Rs 203 in the comparable quarter of the previous year.
The company’s earnings could have been stronger, but pre-payment of govt’s spectrum dues ate into the profitability. Airtel said it pre-paid Rs 8,465 crore in third quarter to DoT towards deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in 2016. These were to be paid at an interest rate of 9.3%.
“We delivered another quarter of solid performance, with India revenue growing 8.7% sequentially. Africa maintained strong revenue growth momentum as well with 7.7% constant currency growth,” Vittal, currently the MD of the company, said.
He said Airtel’s drive towards “premiumisation” has helped add 4.2 million smartphone customers. “We continue to expand our Wifi coverage with fixed wireless access offerings to over 2,000 cities. We continue to invest in our digital businesses to diversify portfolio strength and drive long-term growth,” Vittal added. As CEO, Sharma will be responsible for the entire end-to-end consumer business.
