Bharti Airtel Q1 profit rises 43% to ₹5,948 cr, Arpu surges to ₹250

India’s second-largest telecommunication services provider Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported a 43 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in consolidated net profit at ₹5,948 crore for the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26) while the company’s consolidated revenue for the period stood at ₹49,463 crore, up 28.5 per cent Y-o-Y. 

Net income from Indian operations stood at ₹5,292 crore in the quarter ended June, up from ₹4,183.2 crore in the same period last financial year. Revenues stood at ₹37,584 crore in the June quarter, up from ₹32,484 crore in the same period of FY25.  

The average revenue per user (Arpu) of the company increased to ₹250, up from ₹211 in the same period a year ago. The Arpu continues to be the highest amongst peers. 

 

“We delivered another quarter of consistent growth, with consolidated revenues at 49,463 crore, growing 3.3 per cent on a sequential basis. Our India revenue, including Passive Infrastructure Services, increased by 2.3 per cent sequentially. Africa reported solid performance with 6.7 per cent growth in constant currency. India Mobile business recorded a sequential growth of 2.9 per cent, driven by continued focus on portfolio premiumisation and an additional day in the quarter,” Bharti Airtel vice-chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal said. 

During the quarter, the carrier’s total customer base across all its markets including Africa crossed the 600 million mark. In India, the telco’s customer base rose to 436 million, up from 412 million the year before. 

“This is a testament to our passion for connecting customers through sustained investments, and superior customer experience. Our balance sheet continues to demonstrate strength, supported by solid cash-flow generation and disciplined capital allocation,” Vittal said in his statement. 

The Homes business of the company grew 25.7 per cent Y-o-Y, driven by new customer additions. Meanwhile, the expansion of the company's fixed wireless access (FWA) network resulted in the addition of 939,000 customers. Overall, the Homes business of the company now has 11 million users. 

On Monday, Bharti Airtel announced its entry into the sovereign cloud offering space with the launch of Airtel Cloud, offering it to other telecom players on a platform-as-a-service model. Apart from the cloud offering, Bharti Airtel has also announced an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software suite for customers, designed to enhance customer experience, reduce churn, and increase Arpu. 

These measures are seen as Bharti Airtel’s attempts to increase revenue for non-core businesses, as Arpu from the leading telecommunication business has remained nearly stagnant despite tariff hikes in the recent quarters. 

Bharti Airtel, which operates across 17 countries, said that revenue from its India operations for Q1FY26 stood at ₹37,585 crore, up 29 per cent Y-o-Y, driven by improved realisations in the Mobile segment and continued growth momentum in the Home business. 

The company’s customer base saw a growth of 0.7 million customers in the post-paid segment during Q1FY26. The number of smartphone users on Bharti Airtel’s network grew by 21.3 million, up 8.2 per cent Y-o-Y, the company said.

 

To augment its service capacities, Bharti Airtel added 1,800 towers and 7,500 mobile broadband stations during the quarter under review. However, capex fell to Rs 7,273 crore in the quarter, from Rs 8,503 crore in the June quarter of FY25, reflecting tapering of the 5G network investments.

 

The Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) segment, which the company launched in Q4FY25, added 0.65 million users over the past six months. Meanwhile, the Digital TV division reported revenues of ₹763 crore, with a customer base of 15.7 million users.

 

Airtel Africa, which is also a key market for the company, reported a 24.9 per cent Y-o-Y increase in net revenue to $1.4 billion in constant currency terms, while net income was $78 million. The number of Airtel Africa users stood at 169 million at the end of Q1FY26.