Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, reported a massive 432 per cent year-on-year jump in its consolidated net profit, reaching ₹11,022 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended March 31. This significant growth was fuelled by tariff increases and strong underlying momentum in its Indian operations. In the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Airtel’s consolidated net profit was ₹2,072 crore.

Excluding exceptional items, the company’s profit still saw a substantial 77 per cent year-on-year increase to ₹5,223 crore during the quarter, compared to ₹2,952 crore in January-March 2024.

Airtel’s consolidated revenue from operations also witnessed robust growth, increasing by over 27 per cent year-on-year to ₹47,876 crore in Q4FY25, up from ₹37,599 crore in the same period of the last financial year. The company attributed this revenue expansion to strong momentum in India, a recovery in Africa’s reported currency revenue growth, and the full-quarter impact of consolidating Indus Towers.

Smartphone customers

In India, mobile services revenue surged by 20.6 per cent year-on-year, driven by tariff revisions, strong additions of smartphone customers, and premiumisation efforts. Consequently, Airtel’s mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to ₹245 in Q4FY25 from ₹209 in Q4FY24. The company also reported a 24 million year-on-year increase in smartphone data customers and 0.6 million postpaid net additions in Q4FY25. Mobile data consumption also saw a significant 21.2 per cent year-on-year increase, with per-customer consumption reaching 25.1 GB per month.

For the entire fiscal year, Airtel’s consolidated net profit jumped by an impressive 349.39 per cent to ₹33,556 crore, compared to ₹7,467 crore in FY24. Consolidated revenue from operations for FY25 also rose by 15.33 per cent to ₹1,72,985.2 crore, up from ₹1,49,982.4 crore in the previous fiscal year.

Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Airtel, commented: “We ended FY25 on a strong note... India revenue increased by 6 per cent. Africa continued its underlying performance even as there was steadiness on currency. India mobile business grew by 1.3 per cent sequentially, despite having two fewer days in the quarter.”

Total prepayments

Vittal also highlighted the company’s strong balance sheet, supported by robust cash generation, disciplined capital spending, and ongoing debt reduction, noting the prepayment of ₹5,985 crore of high-cost spectrum dues in the last quarter, bringing total prepayments to over ₹42,000 crore in the last two years.

Additionally, Airtel’s Board recommended a final dividend of ₹16 per fully paid-up equity share (face value ₹5) and ₹4 per partly paid-up equity share (paid-up value ₹1.25 per share) for FY24-25, proportional to the paid-up amount.

On Tuesday, shares of Airtel closed down by 2.74 per cent at ₹1,820.95 apiece on the BSE.

Published on May 13, 2025