Q1 telco preview: ARPUs to rise; subscriber churn to hit revenues

With the first quarter (Q1) results around the corner, telecom analysts expect sector average revenue per user (ARPU) to grow marginally. 

Analysts also expect the impact of debt reduction and the subsequent decline in finance charges of the operators to start reflecting from Q1 of 2019-20, while major reduction would be visible from the next quarter.

“ARPUs for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are estimated to increase by 3 per cent and 8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), respectively. The differential in ARPU increase is an outcome of subscriber losses and marginal benefit accruing from the mix change,” noted a report