Bharti Airtel gains 3%, hits record high ahead of December quarter results

The telecom operator may return to profit while revenues may grow in mid-teens on a year-on-year basis, mainly on account of strong subscriber addition momentum, say analysts

Shares of Bharti Airtel hit a fresh record high of Rs 616.45, up 3 per cent on the BSE on Wednesday ahead of its October-December quarter (Q3FY21) results, scheduled to be relessed later today. The stock of the telecom services provider surpassed its previous high of Rs 611.70, touched on May 20, 2020.

On January 31, the company announced that the board of directors, in its meeting scheduled on Wednesday, February 03, 2021, shall also consider "routine financing/ re-financing strategies and any consequent raising of capital through various instruments including debentures, bonds, loans etc. either denominated in Indian rupees or in foreign currency and of suitable tenor and characteristics, subject to applicable regulatory/ statutory approval(s)".

"There are four key things to watch out for in Bharti Airtel's Q3FY21 results: management commentary on the timing of tariff hikes, outlook on spectrum investments including renewals, network rollouts and capex outlay to cater to higher traffic on network, and comments on review petition filed against the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) ruling," global brokerage Jefferies said in a result preview note.

The telecom operator may return to profit while revenues may grow in mid-teens on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, mainly on account of strong subscriber addition momentum. During the quarter under review, Airtel recorded 6.3 per cent YoY growth in subscribers to 30.1 crore, with data subscribers rising 24.6 per cent YoY to 17.3 crore. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL DETAILS

In the past one month Bharti Airtel has outperformed the market by gaining 20 per cent after global index provider MSCI said it will take a decision on increasing the weightage of the telecom services provider at the upcoming index review in February.

The announcement came after Bharti Airtel announced on January 12 that it had received required regulatory approvals for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in its downstream companies. The company also said it had initiated the process to revise its foreign investment limit to 100 per cent, with immediate effect.