Bharti Airtel gains after Q4 PAT zooms 432% YoY; recommends final dividend of Rs 16/sh

Revenue from operations increased 27.33% YoY to Rs 47,876.2 crore in Q4 FY25, driven by strong underlying momentum in India, a rebound in reported currency revenue growth in Africa and full quarter impact of Indus Towers consolidation.

Profit before exceptional items and tax was at Rs 9,724 crore in Q4 FY25, registering growth of 85.80% from Rs 5,233.5 crore recorded in Q4 FY24. The company reported an exceptional items of Rs 140.1 crore during the quarter.

EBITDA for Q4 FY25 increased by 39.9% to Rs 27,404 crore, compared to Rs 19,590 crore reported in Q4 FY24. The EBITDA margin also improved, rising to 57.2% in Q4 FY25 from 52.1% in Q4 FY24.

The company reported a total capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 14,401 crore for Q4 FY25.

During the quarter, Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, Amortization, and Lease Liabilities (EBITDAaL) stood at Rs 24,384 crore, up 48% year-on-year (YoY), with a margin of 50.9%.

The telecom major's consolidated mobile data traffic for the quarter was at 21,598 PBs, registering YoY growth of 22%.

During the quarter, the overall customer base stood at approximately 591 million across 15 countries, marking a 5.1% YoY increase.

India's revenues for Q4 FY25 stood at Rs 36,735 crore, marking a 28.8% YoY increase. Mobile revenues grew by 20.6% YoY, led by tariff repair and its relentless focus to premiumize the portfolio and winning quality customers.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter stood at Rs 245, up 17.78% over Rs 209 in Q4 FY24.

The telecom operator stated that it maintained its leadership position in the postpaid segment, achieving continued momentum with net additions of 0.6 million in Q4 FY25, resulting in a total postpaid customer base of 25.9 million.

Its market share in the smartphone segment continued to improve, with the addition of 24 million users'an increase of 9.5% YoY.

Airtel Business revenue declined by 2.7% YoY, impacted by portfolio transformation as the company moved away from low-margin global wholesale commodity voice and messaging services.

Airtel's Homes business saw improved momentum with revenue growth of 21.3% YoY, driven by strong customer additions. During the quarter, we accelerated our Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) expansion, supporting continued growth with net additions of 812K customers, bringing the total customer base to 10.0 million. The company also expanded its home-pass network at an accelerated pace, adding over 2 million home passes during the quarter.

During the quarter, the company installed approximately 3.3K additional towers and 13.6K mobile broadband stations to expand its network footprint and enhance the customer experience nationwide. Its commitment to delivering an excellent network experience is reflected in continued investments, with approximately 19.9K towers added and 44.4K kilometers of fiber deployed (YoY).

Digital TV posts revenue of Rs 764 crore with a customer base of 15.9 million. The company continues to gain customer market share with a simplified pricing structure, market-specific strategy, and differentiated converged offerings.

Net Debt-EBITDA ratio (annualized) stands at 1.86 times (on reported basis) as compared to 1.98 times as on 31 December 2024. Net Debt (excluding lease obligations)-EBITDAaL ratio is at 1.42 times on reported basis.

Meanwhile, Africa revenues for the quarter stood at $1,334 million in constant currency, registering a 21.3% growth compared to $1,099 million in the corresponding quarter last year, driven by growth across all regions, including Nigeria, East Africa, and Francophone. EBITDA margin (in constant currency) was 47.1%, down by 1.1 Bps YoY, while EBIT margin (in constant currency) was 29.4%, a decrease of 2.8 Bps YoY. The customer base reached 163.1 million and capex for the quarter amounted to Rs 1,181 crore.

Meanwhile, Africa revenues for the quarter stood at $ 1,380 million in constant currency grew by 23.2% as compared to $ 1,120 million in the corresponding quarter last year as a result of growth across all regions including Nigeria, East Africa and Francophone. The EBITDA margin (in constant currency) was 47.5%, up 120 basis points YoY. The EBIT margin stood at 29.9%, down 94 basis points YoY. The customer base now stands at 166 million.

Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and MD, Bharti Airtel, said, 'We ended FY 25 on a strong note with consolidated revenue of 47,876 crore, growing 6.1%. India's revenue increased by 6%. Africa continued its underlying performance even as there was steadiness on currency. India Mobile business grew by 1.3% sequentially, despite having 2 less days in the quarter. Growth was driven by premiumization. We added 6.6 million smartphone users and maintained an industry-leading ARPU of Rs 245.

Our Homes business saw step up in customer net additions, resulting in sequential revenue growth of 5.8%. Our IPTV services are now live in over 2000 cities, enhancing large screen viewing experience for customers. Airtel business revenue moderation was inline with our strategy outlined last quarter to shed our low margin wholesale business while underlying growth continues to remain steady.

Our balance sheet is solid, supported by strong cash generation, disciplined capital spending, and ongoing debt reduction. We prepaid Rs 5,985 crore of high-cost spectrum dues in the last quarter with prepayment of over Rs 42K crore in last two years.'

Meanwhile, the company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 16 per equity share for the financial year 2024-25.

Bharti Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 550 million customers in 15 countries across South Asia and Africa.

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