Bharti Airtel stock at new high, up 5%; surpasses ICICI Bank in market cap

Bharti Airtel today stood at fourth position in terms of stock market capitalisation, with a combined, including its partly-paid up share capital, touching Rs 7.62 trillion levels.

Shares of Bharti Airtel surpassed ICICI Bank in market capitalisation (market cap) ranking as the stock price of telecom services provider hit a new high of Rs 1,281.40, gaining 5 per cent in Thursday’s intra-day trade on healthy business outlook. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,244.95 touched on March 22, 2024.

Meanwhile, shares of Bharti Airtel partly-paid (PP) hit a new high of Rs 910.05 as they surged 9 per cent in intra-day trade.

A sharp rally in Bharti Airtel stock price has helped the combined market cap of Bharti Airtel (Rs 7.26 trillion) and Bharti Airtel PP (Rs 0.36 trillion) touch Rs 7.62 trillion in intra-day trade. Airtel now stands at number four position in overall market cap surpassing ICICI Bank, which has a market cap of Rs 7.49 trillion, the BSE data shows.

In an exchange filing today, Airtel announced that Dialog Axiata PLC, Axiata Group Berhad and Bharti Airtel, signed a definitive agreement to combine their operations in Sri Lanka.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has granted its approval for the proposed merger, underscoring its vision to advance the adoption of telecommunications services across Sri Lanka.

This consolidation will enable the merged entity to garner economies of scale and reduce duplication of infrastructure, achieve synergies in technology and capital expenditure leading to enhanced high speed broadband connectivity, voice and value added services, cost savings and operational efficiencies. The integration of Dialog and Airtel Lanka operations will unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth, and this will benefit consumers, the company said.

In a separate filing, Airtel said the rapid deployment and adoption of 5G in the country is due to multiple factors including rapid network enhancement, accelerated 5G rollout and increasing availability of 5G devices.

In order to make affordable devices accessible to users, Airtel also collaborated with Poco to offer sub10K 5G smartphones, which helped to grow its overall 5G user base in the country. Retail expansion in the region to increase physical format of stores has further augmented consumer connect to help customers upgrade conveniently to 5G service, the company said.

Meanwhile, IIFL Securities raised Airtel's target price to Rs 1,379 from Rs 1,215, as the brokerage firm sees two rounds of tariff increase in the next three years, which will benefit all three telcos.

Airtel has a strong focus on quality customers with increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and revenue. The management is confident of gaining industry-leading growth backed by robust rural penetration and a superior services portfolio. The Capex, however, will remain moderate in FY25, according to analysts at Axis Securities.

From a long-term perspective, the brokerage firm believes Bharti Airtel would continue to gain market share, backed by the highest penetrations, and with minimum Capex requirements. With a stronger digital portfolio supported by rising per-user data, analysts are positive about the future growth of Airtel.