Bharti Airtel Q2 net profit falls 37.5% to Rs 1,341 cr, ARPU improves

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported a 37.5% drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,341 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. The net profit stood at Rs 2,145 crore a year ago.

For the just-ended quarter, the consolidated net income (before exceptional items) came in at Rs 2,960 crore, up by 44.2% year-on-year.

The quarterly revenue rose 7.3% to Rs 37,044 crore, "backed by strong and consistent performance in India operations", according to the company statement.

"This has been yet another quarter of solid revenue growth 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," Bharti Airtel managing director Gopal Vittal said.

However, the mobile average revenue per user or ARPU, an important metric for telcos, increased to Rs 203 in Q2 2024 against Rs 190 in Q2 2023, Bharti Airtel said.

The company recorded 7.7 million 4G/5G net subscribers addition and exited the quarter with an "industry-leading ARPU of 203", he added.

"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 underpinned by a simple and consistent strategy of focusing on quality customers and delivering the best experience to them in a seamless digital way," Vittal further said.