Revenue growth in India and Africa, higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and continued customer additions supported the company’s earnings performance.
Bharti Airtel Ltd reported a 32.7 per cent increase in consolidated net income before exceptional items to ₹90.15 billion in the second quarter of FY2026-27, as revenue growth in India and Africa, higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and strong customer additions supported earnings.
Consolidated revenue rose 16.7 per cent year-on-year to ₹608.78 billion during the quarter ended September 30, while consolidated EBITDA increased to ₹352.40 billion, with EBITDA margin standing at 57.9 per cent.
“In a statement, Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman, said, “We delivered another quarter of consistent performance with consolidated revenues of ₹608.78 billion, increasing 4 per cent QoQ, underscoring the strength of our diversified portfolio. Africa delivered a standout quarter with 6.7 per cent QoQ constant currency revenue growth.”
The telecom operator’s India business generated revenue of ₹423.08 billion, up 9.4 per cent from a year earlier. Mobile revenue rose 10.1 per cent, driven by customer additions and improved realisations, with ARPU increasing to ₹271 from ₹256 in the corresponding quarter last year.
Airtel added 2.9 million smartphone data customers during the quarter, while the postpaid segment delivered its strongest-ever quarterly performance with net additions of 1.2 million subscribers, taking the total postpaid base to 31.2 million. Mobile data usage increased 36.5 per cent year-on-year to 36.5 GB per customer per month.
The company’s homes business maintained its growth trajectory, with revenue rising 25.3 per cent and net customer additions of 676,000 during the quarter. Airtel Business posted 11.4 per cent revenue growth, while Digital TV revenue increased 2.4 per cent, supported by growing IPTV adoption.
Growth Engines Gain
Africa remained a key growth driver, recording revenue growth of 20.6 per cent in constant currency terms and 25.7 per cent on a reported basis, with the customer base reaching 193.9 million.
The company continued to expand its network footprint, deploying 497 towers and 11,684 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter. Over the past year, Airtel added 5,649 towers and laid 44,718 km of fibre, strengthening capacity and coverage.
The quarter also saw Airtel invest ₹28.26 billion in a strategic land parcel for data-centre expansion in India, supporting its ambition to build data-centre capacity. Consolidated capital expenditure stood at ₹124.67 billion, including ₹99.08 billion invested in India.
“Our new growth engines continue to gain momentum. Our investment in a strategic land parcel during the quarter marks another important step towards realising our ambition of building 1 GW of data centre capacity.”
Airtel’s consolidated net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improved to 1.18, compared with 1.63 a year earlier, reflecting continued balance-sheet strengthening and cash generation.