Bharti Airtel Q4 net profit down 33.5%, Arpu falls to ₹257
Bharti Airtel Ltd on Wednesday reported a steady revenue growth in the January-March quarter (Q4FY26) driven by subscriber additions, higher data consumption and continued expansion in the home broadband segment. The company’s net profit, however, fell owing to one-time charge on account of regulatory and government levies and a higher base of last year.
India’s second-largest telecom operator by market share reported a 33.5% year-on-year (YoY) fall in its net profit to ₹7,325 crore, about 5% lower than Bloomberg’s estimates of ₹7,690 crore.
The drop in profit could be attributed largely to a high base in the year-ago period, when the company booked a tax credit of ₹2,892 crore. During the quarter, the company also recognised a charge of ₹3,161 crore on account of regulatory and government levies. Sequentially, the net profit rose 10.5% in Q4 from ₹6,631 crore in the preceding quarter.
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Bharti Airtel reported a net profit of ₹7,325 crore for the January-March quarter (Q4FY26). This represented a 33.5% year-on-year fall, although it was a 10.5% increase sequentially from the previous quarter.
Bharti Airtel’s revenue grew due to subscriber additions, increased data consumption, and expansion in the home broadband segment. Growth was also driven by the mobile services business, enterprise business, and upgrades from 2G to 4G/5G.
The net profit fell primarily due to a one-time charge of ₹3,161 crore for regulatory and government levies and a higher base from the previous year, which included a tax credit of ₹2,892 crore.
Bharti Airtel’s ARPU for the March quarter (Q4FY26) was ₹257 per month. This was a slight decrease from ₹259 in the preceding quarter but a 4.9% increase year-on-year from ₹245.
The India Mobile business achieved sequential growth, adding 5.8 million smartphone customers and 0.8 million postpaid customers. The Homes business showed strong performance with 37.3% year-on-year revenue growth and 1.135 million net customer additions.
Revenue momentum
Revenue in the quarter rose 15.7% YoY and 2.6% sequentially at ₹55,383 crore. This was largely driven by an increase in its mainstay mobile services business, enterprise business, its focus on premium services, upgrades from 2G to 4G/5G, postpaid subscribers, and its Africa business.
“India Mobile achieved sequential growth of 0.6%, despite two lesser number of days in the quarter. We added 5.8 million smartphone customers and 0.8 million postpaid customers, underscoring our focus on quality customers and portfolio premiumization,” said Gopal Vittal, executive vice chairman of Bharti Airtel, in a statement.
“Our balance sheet strength is underpinned by disciplined execution and prudent capital allocation. At the same time, we believe further tariff repair remains critical to support continued investments and long-term value creation,” Vittal said.
Shares of Bharti Airtel ended 1.4% higher at ₹1,781.2 on the National Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The telco’s results were announced after market hours.
The company’s board has considered and recommended a final dividend of ₹24.
Competitive backdrop
Airtel’s results arrive at a time when Jio Platforms is closer to filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to list on the stock exchanges.
Besides, Vodafone Idea, which has recently got a relief from the government on its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, will also be considering a fundraising proposal via equity at its board meeting on Saturday.
Arpu flatline
Two fewer days in the quarter and the absence of tariff hikes have weighed on the growth of average revenue per user (Arpu) for Bharti Airtel during the quarter. The company’s Arpu fell to ₹257 a month in the March quarter from ₹259 in the preceding quarter. Arpu rose 4.9% YoY from ₹245 in the year-ago period.
Arpu refers to the average monthly revenue earned from each mobile customer and is a key indicator of telecom spending.
In the absence of tariff hike Reliance Jio too reported a flat sequential Arpu of ₹214.
Amid absence of headline tariff hikes, Bharti Airtel raised the price of one of its long-validity prepaid plans last month, a move analysts said may be aimed at testing the waters for broader tariff hikes.
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