Airtel Q3FY22: Net profit down by 3 pc to Rs 830 cr
Telecom major Airtel reported a fall in its net profit after exceptional items by 2.8 percent to Rs 830 crore for the Q3FY22 against Rs 854 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Its revenue in the December quarter grew 12.6 percent YoY to Rs 29,867 crore from Rs 26,518 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
EBITDA for the quarter under review grew 22.4 percent YoY to Rs 14,905 crore, with EBITDA margin widening to 49.9 percent from 45.9 percent YoY.
The mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) grew to Rs 163 in the December quarter compared with Rs 146 in the same period last year.
Overall customer base for Airtel stood at 48.50 crore across 16 countries, while its customer base in India stood at 35.6 crore.
The company said the revenue from its business in India rose 17.9 percent YoY on a comparable basis and 10 percent YoY on a reported basis.
Airtel's India business reported EBITDA margin for the quarter at 49.8 percent, up 458 basis points YoY.
The company reported an EBIT margin at 15.9 percent, growing 313 basis points YoY.
The capex incurred in the country stood at Rs 4,654 crore.
Mobile revenues rose 19.1 percent YoY on account of upside in ARPU led by pricing intervention and continued momentum in 4G customer addition, Bharti Airtel said.
The ARPU growth was the result of "the company’s unrelenting focus on winning with quality customers by delivering differentiated experience," Airtel said.
Airtel's 4G data customers grew 18.1 percent YoY to 19.55 crore.
The company said it has added 2.99 crore 4G customers to its network in the course of last year.
"ARPU continues to be the best in industry, average data usage per data customer at 18.3 GBs per month and voice usage per customer at 1,061 mins per month. We rolled out additional 7,800 towers and 31,000 mobile broadband base stations in the quarter to provide ubiquitous connectivity and superior network experience," the company said.
Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, India & South Asia, said: “The recent tariff revision for mobile services has gone down well and we are exiting the quarter with an industry-leading ARPU of Rs 163. The full impact of the revised mobile tariffs, however, will be visible in the fourth quarter."
Airtel's Africa business registered a revenue growth of 20 percent YoY in constant currency.
It recorded EBITDA margin at 49.5 percent, up 268 bps YoY, while EBIT margin stood at 33.7 percent was up 407 bps YoY.
The customer base in Africa stood at 12.58 crore.
The company incurred a capex spend of Rs 1,397 crore in that region during the quarter.
Vittal said: "Our balance sheet is robust and we are now generating healthy free cash flows. This has enabled us to recently prepay some of our spectrum liabilities to the government, thereby reducing the interest burden.
"Google’s recent investment is a strong validation of Airtel’s role in being a leading pioneer of India’s digital revolution. Our emerging digital services portfolio across Airtel IQ, AdTech, digital marketplace, Nxtra and digital banking positions us well to build an Airtel of the future."
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