Bharti Airtel on Thursday reported more than a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to ₹16,134.6 crore boosted by the consolidation of the Indus Tower business and benefits of tariff hikes flowing into the quarter.
The company had posted a consolidated profit of ₹2,876.4 crore in the year-ago period.
India’s second-largest telecom company posted quarterly revenue from operations of ₹45,129.3 crore, about 19 per cent higher than ₹37,899.5 crore it posted in the year-ago period.
The average revenue per user (ARPU), a key financial performance metric, rose to ₹245 in the December quarter from ₹208 in the year-ago period.
Bharti Airtel said that its India business posted a 24.6 per cent annual increase to ₹34,654 crore in the December quarter backed by residual flow through the impact of tariff repair in the mobile segment, and strong momentum in the homes business and the impact of Indus Towers consolidation.
The company posted a net exceptional gain of ₹7,545.6 crore comprising a gain of ₹14,322.5 crore arising from the business combination of Indus, according to the company filing.
Bharti Airtel also recorded net foreign exchange gain of ₹1,193.6 crore due to currency appreciation in group subsidiaries and ₹128.5 crore on account of input tax credit on passive infrastructure services. The company’s net income before exceptional items was ₹5,514 crore.
Commenting on the performance of the company, Bharti Airtel, vice-vhairman and MD, Gopal Vittal said: “Indus Towers consolidation is effective this quarter. India revenue (excluding Indus) grew by 4.8 per cent sequentially. India mobile delivered strong performance led by residual flow-through of tariff repair and underlying levers of premiumisation. We reported another quarter of industry leading ARPU growth to reach ₹245.”
