• Consolidated Revenue: Just over INR38,500 crores.

• India Revenue: INR29,046 crores, a sequential growth of 1.9%.

• EBITDA Margins: 53.7%.

• Operating Free Cash Flow: Approximately INR8,800 crores.

• CapEx: About INR6,780 crores for the quarter.

• Net Debt to EBITDA (India): 2.75, improved from 3.19 a year ago.

• ARPU: INR211, up from INR209 in the previous quarter.

• 5G Customer Base: 90 million.

• Broadband Customer Additions: 350,000 new customers.

• DTH Net Customer Additions: Over 190,000.

• Airtel Finance Loan Book: INR3,300 crores.

• Payments Bank Monthly Transacting Users: 71.4 million.

• Payments Bank Annualized Revenue Run Rate: Over INR2,400 crores, growing 52% year-on-year.

• Deposits: Over INR2,900 crores, growing by over 50% year-on-year.

• Africa Revenue Growth: 4.6% sequential growth in constant currency terms.

Release Date: August 06, 2024

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Bharti Airtel Ltd (BOM:532454) reported a consolidated revenue of over INR38,500 crores, with India delivering a steady growth of 1.9% sequentially.

• The company achieved an EBITDA margin of 53.7% and a strong operating free cash flow of about INR8,800 crores.

• Bharti Airtel Ltd (BOM:532454) prepaid over INR24,250 crores of high-cost spectrum dues in the last year, improving the India net debt to EBITDA ratio to 2.75 from 3.19 a year ago.

• The company expanded its 5G coverage, ending the quarter with a 5G customer base of 90 million, and continued to gain market share.

• Bharti Airtel Ltd (BOM:532454) is focusing on digital capabilities, with Airtel Finance scaling up well and the payments bank growing its annualized revenue run rate by 52% year-on-year.

Negative Points

• The global business segment of Bharti Airtel Ltd (BOM:532454) remained muted, with a need for green shoots in the order book to translate into revenue.

• EBITDA margins were impacted due to seasonality, which is expected to unwind in the ensuing quarter.

• The company acknowledged the need for a minimum ARPU of INR300 for long-term sustainable investments, indicating current ARPU levels may not be sufficient.

• The enterprise business showed significant softening, with a slowdown in growth compared to the previous year.

• Competitive intensity in the enterprise segment remains a challenge, particularly in government tenders and public sector units.

Q & A Highlights

Q: How is Bharti Airtel planning to allocate capital moving forward, considering the moderation in CapEx and reduction in net debt? A: Gopal Vittal, CEO, explained that capital allocation will focus on strengthening infrastructure, network, and cloud investments. The company will continue to invest in data centers and consider a mix of deleveraging and dividends as financial health improves.