Telecom operator Bharti Airtel posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.
Bharti Airtel had posted net profit (attributable to owners of the parent company) of Rs 2,071.6 crore a year ago.
During the reported quarter, Bharti Airtel received favourable orders in certain tax-related matters, which helped it with a one-time tax benefit of around Rs 5,913 crore.
The company's revenue from operations grew 27 per cent to Rs 47,876.2 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 37,599.1 crore in the March 2024 quarter, it said in a regulatory filing.
Bharti Airtel India's standalone revenue in the March quarter grew 15 per cent year-on-year to Rs 36,735 crore against Rs 31,851.5 crore.
The growth for company came as it benefited from the tariff hike, which was announced in July last year.
"India revenues for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2025 at Rs 36,735 crore, increased by 28.8 per cent YoY.
"Mobile revenues grew 20.6 per cent YoY, led by tariff repair and our relentless focus on premiumise the portfolio and winning quality customers," the company said in a statement.
The average revenue per user -- a key matrix of a telco's business -- grew about 17 per cent to Rs 245 during the quarter from Rs 209 a year earlier.
"India Mobile business grew by 1.3 per cent sequentially, despite having 2 less days in the quarter. Growth was driven by premiumisation.
"We added 6.6 million smartphone users and maintained an industry-leading ARPU of Rs 245," Bharti Airtel vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said.
Airtel's India subscriber base grew to 42.4 crore in the March 2025 quarter, and the overall customer base of Airtel stood at around 59 crore across 15 countries.
Smartphone data customers on Airtel increased by 2.4 crore on a year-on-year basis, accounting for 77 per cent of the overall mobile customer base.
The average mobile data consumption on its network grew by 21.2 per cent to 25.1 GB per month.
For the year ended March 31, 2025, Airtel posted about a four-fold increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 33,556 crore from Rs 7,467 crore in FY24.
The annual revenue from operations of Bharti Airtel grew 15.33 per cent to Rs 1,72,985.2 crore in FY25 compared to Rs 1,49,982.4 crore in FY24.
Its net debt increased to Rs 2.03 lakh crore at the end of the reported quarter from Rs 1.94 lakh crore a year ago.
The company's consolidated capex during the quarter stood at Rs 14,401 crore, out of which Rs 12,553 crore was invested in its India business.
"During the quarter, we installed approximately 3,300 additional towers and 13,600 mobile broadband stations to expand our network footprint and enhance customer experience nationwide.
"Our dedication to providing an excellent network experience is evident in our investments, as we have added approximately 19,900 towers YoY and deployed 44,400 kilometres of fibre YoY," the statement said.
For the full year ended March 31, 2025, the company's capex for India stood at Rs 33,242 crore.
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