Bharti Airtel, whose profit came under severe pressure in the fourth quarter of 2011-12, is looking at a revenue target of $5 billion from its African operations next year.
For FY’13, Airtel Africa will make a capital expenditure of $1 billion. The company reported revenues of $4.13 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2012.
“The restructuring for Africa is over...FY 13 will be a normal year. Therefore, the revenue goal of $5 billion definitely remains our target,” said Mr Manoj Kumar Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel.
The company had completed the acquisition of Zain’s African operations in 16 countries for an enterprise value of $10.7 billion in 2010.
“All changes we wanted to bring in the network, IT, organisation design... are successfully completed and I believe this will be a year of stability, operational consolidation and therefore we are confidant of leading a growth in these markets,” Mr Kohli added.
Bharti Airtel today reported a decline of 28.19 per cent in consolidated net income at Rs 1,006 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, hit by higher cost of 3G licence fee amortisation, 3G interest costs, forex losses and tax provisions.
Mr Kohli said the company aims at achieving 40 per cent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) from its African operations.
During the quarter ended March 31, Airtel Africa had a loss of Rs 340.6 crore, while revenues stood at Rs 5,387.4 crore during the period.
The telecom major has over 53.1 million customers across 17 African countries with average revenue per user at $6.8 per month.