Bharti Airtel gains on robust Q3 earnings growth

Net profit surged 115% to Rs 610 crore and overseas revenue grew 18.5% y-o-y

Shares of Bharti Airtel were up over 2% at Rs 310 amid robust earnings growth and higher revenue growth from overseas operations.

Net profit for the quarter ended December 2013 surged 115% to Rs 610 crore compared with Rs 284 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The mobile service provider registered 13.% growth in consolidated total revenues to Rs 21,939 crore in the third quarter ended December 2013 compared to the same quarter last fiscal.

India operations registered a revenue growth of 10.3% y-o-y with strong contribution from all segments. Mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) rose by Rs 9.70 to Rs 195 while DTH revenue grew by 25.8% and airtel business grew by 13.9% y-o-y, the company said in a release.

International revenues grew by 18.5% y-o-y in rupee terms with Africa growing by 17.2% and South Asia by 44.8%, the release said.

“The International operations continued to achieve steady revenue growth. Africa had another quarter of strong growth from the 3G/Data and Airtel Money services across all its markets and we expect this trend to sustain due to large investments in brand & network. The market growth came back in Nigeria which is the largest telecom market in the continent” said Mr. Manoj Kohli, MD and CEO, International Operations