Bharti Airtel profit declines 37.7 percent sequentially

Bharti Airtel posted a consolidated profit of Rs 941 crore in the first quarter of 2021-22. It was down 37.7 percent sequentially compared to a profit of Rs 1,511 crore in the quarter ended March 2021.

In the June 2020 quarter, the company had incurred a consolidated loss of Rs 15,811.5 crore after it provisioned Rs 11,745.7 crore towards Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues to the government. AGR is the usage and licensing fee that telecom operators are charged by the Department of Telecommunications.

Airtel reported Rs 26,853.6 crore of consolidated revenue from operations in the quarter ended June 2021. This was 15.3 percent more than its quarterly revenue a year ago, and 4.3 percent higher sequentially.

Its consolidated operating profit of Rs 13,190.1 crore grew 27.8 percent over the Rs 10,323.6-crore operating profit a year ago, and by 6.2 percent over the previous quarter.

“While our wireless revenue was impacted by the COVID lockdown-induced slowdown in terms of device shipments and a financial squeeze at the lower end of the market, our overall performance reflected the resilience and strength of our portfolio,” said Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel, India & South Asia, in an exchange filing.

On a standalone basis, Airtel reported operating revenue of Rs 16,114.2 crore in the June 2021 quarter, which grew 7.1 percent annually but declined by 1.3 percent sequentially.

Its standalone loss of Rs 436 crore in the June 2021 quarter was far lower than the loss of Rs 16,461.8 crore a year ago, but a near wipe-off compared to the profit of Rs 456.3 crore in the March 2021 quarter.

Airtel's mobile services in India clocked Rs 14,306 crores, growing 11.7 percent year on year, and 1.6 percent sequentially. Its Average Revenue Per Unit (ARPU) for the quarter was Rs 146, compared to Rs 138 a year ago.

The number of 4G data customers grew by 33.4 percent to 184.4 million. Over the last four quarters, Airtel added over 46 million 4G customers to its network. It has more than 26 million customers for its Voice over Wi-Fi services.

Airtel rolled out 2,400 towers and over 55,000 mobile broadband base stations in the quarter to expand network coverage.

Vittal said Airtel will continue to invest in the best emerging technologies, including networks and digital capabilities.

Airtel Business and Cisco launched next-gen SD-WAN connectivity solutions for enterprises in July. The  solution  will enable large  and  small businesses to accelerate their digital transformation in a connected world, Airtel said. The company also announced a collaboration with Intel last month on 5G network development.