Bharti Airtel Posts 168% Profit Jump in Q2 FY2025 After Industry Tariff Reset

28 October 2024 — Bharti Airtel, India's No. 2 wireless carrier, reported consolidated net profit of Rs 3,593 crore ($427.49 million) for the July–September quarter of fiscal year 2025, up 168 per cent year on year, as the company's first tariff increase in more than two years lifted its revenue per user. Consolidated revenue rose about 12 per cent to Rs 41,473 crore, and the average revenue per user (ARPU) — the industry's key performance metric — gained 10 per cent sequentially to Rs 233.

Key results of the quarter

• Consolidated net profit: Rs 3,593 crore ($427.49 million), up 168 per cent year on year.
• Consolidated revenue: Rs 41,473 crore, up approximately 12 per cent; total expenses also grew 12 per cent.
• ARPU: Rs 233, up 10 per cent sequentially — a level at which Airtel leads its rivals by a wide margin.
• Subscriber base: 407 million as of 30 September, down 0.7 per cent sequentially.
• A one-time loss of Rs 854 crore was recorded in the quarter from a unit's foreign exchange loss due to currency devaluation.

Tariff reset drives revenue per user

The profit jump follows the first tariff hike in over two years, which lifted ARPU by 10 per cent sequentially to Rs 233. That compares with 195.1 rupees at Reliance Industries-owned Jio for the same period, underscoring Airtel's position as the premium operator of the Indian market by revenue per user.

An industry turning from share to profit

All three Indian mobile carriers — Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — increased their tariffs in June for the first time in nearly three years, aiming to recoup billions invested in 5G technology:

1. Tariffs had not been raised since 2021, while operators spent heavily on boosting network infrastructure.
2. The sector is now moving away from aggressive competition for market share towards increasing profitability.
3. Earlier in October, Jio posted a 23 per cent jump in profit driven by the rate hikes; Vodafone Idea had yet to report results at the time of publication.

Subscriber base and market reaction

The tariff increase carried a visible cost on the subscriber side: Airtel's user base fell 0.7 per cent sequentially to 407 million as of 30 September, hurt by users switching to cheaper alternatives. Shares of Bharti Airtel closed flat ahead of the results.

Company and contacts

Bharti Airtel — India's No. 2 wireless carrier by subscriber base; the results for the July–September quarter of FY2025 were reported on 28 October 2024.

Contacts: the source report (Reuters wire, published on Business Standard, 28 October 2024) provides no direct contact details; no contact information is invented for this release.

Website: https://www.airtel.in/