Bharti Airtel reported on August 5 that its Q1 FY25 net profit surged 158 percent year-on-year to Rs 4,160 crore, up from Rs 1,612 crore in the same quarter last year, surpassing market expectations. This increase was primarily driven by exceptional items. The consolidated net profit before accounting for these exceptional items was Rs 2,925 crore.Â
For the quarter ending June 30, 2024, Airtel recorded a net exceptional gain of Rs 735 crore. This included a gain of Rs 1,399.1 crore following a favorable Supreme Court ruling regarding the waiver of interest on the tax treatment of adjusted revenue-linked variable license fees payable to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Additionally, there was a gain of Rs 274 crore from the divestment of Airtel Lanka, offset by a foreign exchange loss of Rs 938.7 crore due to currency devaluation in its group subsidiaries. Airtel noted a net tax benefit of Rs 328 crore related to these exceptional items.Â
The telecom major’s revenue for the April-June quarter increased by 2.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 38,506 crore, up from Rs 37,440 crore. This growth was somewhat constrained by currency devaluation in Africa.Â
A recent poll of five brokerage estimates had projected Bharti Airtel’s fiscal first quarter net profit at Rs 3,455 crore, with revenue at Rs 38,611 crore.Â
The average revenue per user (ARPU) per month, a key metric for telecom companies, rose 5.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 211, from Rs 200 the previous year. Kotak Institutional Equities had anticipated a marginal ARPU increase to Rs 210 in Q1 FY25 compared to Rs 209 in the prior quarter. However, they noted that the recent tariff hikes would take a few more quarters to fully impact realisation. Axis Securities projected a 15 percent ARPU gain in Q3 FY25, driven by higher conversions and tariff hikes.Â
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