Bharti Airtel Q4 net profit jumps 164% to Rs 2,008 cr; ARPU rises to Rs 178

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported 164% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,008 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2022, It reported consolidated net profit of Rs 760 crore in the year-ago period. 

Consolidated revenue from operations rose 22% to Rs 31,500 crore in Q4FY22 as against Rs 25,747 crore in Q4FY21. 

On Tuesday, the company's scrip on BSE closed nearly 2% higher at Rs 706. The company's Board has recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per fully paid-up equity share of face value Rs 5 each.

Its average revenue per user (ARPU) - a key performance indicator in the telecom industry - came in at Rs 178 for the quarter, up from Rs 145 from a year earlier. ARPU of rivals Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea for the same period was Rs 167.6 and Rs 124, respectively.

Airtel, India's second-biggest carrier, said in November when it announced tariff hikes that mobile ARPU needed to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300, for a financially healthy business model.

The company has been raising money to fund its digital ambitions, including developing home broadband, data centres, cloud adoption as it prepares to launch its next-generation 5G services in the country.

In January, it announced an investment of up to $1 billion from Alphabet Inc's Google.

Airtel said on Sunday it would set up its fourth digital technology hub in the country, as part of plans to expand its in-house digital engineering capabilities.

For the full year FY22, the Sunil Mittal-led telco logged a net profit of Rs 4,255 crore against a loss of Rs 15,084 crore in the previous fiscal (FY21).

Bharti Airtel posted a revenue of Rs 1.16 trillion for FY22, up from Rs 1 trillion recorded in the previous financial year. This translated into a topline growth of about 16% for full year.

Gopal Vittal, CEO, India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, exuded optimism about the opportunities in the coming years, and said the company is "well poised" for three reasons.

"First, our ability to execute consistently to a simple strategy of winning with quality customers and delivering the best experience to them. Second, our future proofed business model with massive investments in both infrastructure and digital capabilities," he said.

He also underlined the company's financial prudence backed by its strong governance focus, as a strong point.

With inputs from agencies