Bharti Airtel Q3 results: Net profit jumps 54% to Rs 2,442 cr; ARPU rises to Rs 208

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd on Monday reported 54% jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,442 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. It reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1,588 crore in the year-ago period. 

The firm's consolidated revenue from operations rose 6% to Rs 37,900 crore in Q3FY24 as against Rs 35,804 crore in Q3FY23. The revenue was partially impacted by currency devaluation in Africa, said the company.

The firm's average revenue per user (ARPU) rose marginally to Rs 208 in Q3FY24 as compared to Rs 203 in Q2FY24.

On Monday, Airtel's scrip on BSE closed 3% lower at Rs 1,113.1.

The firm said its consolidated net debt, excluding lease obligations, redued to Rs 1.42 lakh crore in Q3FY24 as compared to Rs 1.54 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

India revenue of Airtel grew 11.4% year-on-year to Rs 27,811 crore during Q3FY24. 

The company had 34.56 crore customers as on December 31, 2023 as compared to 33.22 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, an increase of 4% YoY. 4G/5G data customer base stood at 24.5 crore, an increase by 74 lakh QoQ and 2.82 crore YoY, said the company in a stock exchange filing.

Expenses rose 4.23% to Rs 18,085 crore, as the company poured more money into spectrum charges, marketing and network operations. Its tax expenses also rose nearly 15% to Rs 1,232 crore.

Airtel also reported a one-time charge of Rs 130 crore, which it attributed to a foreign exchange net loss due to currency devaluation in its group subsidiaries.

Last month, Jio broke a four-quarter streak of slowing profit growth, helped by subscriber additions.