Bharti Airtel reports 26% Q-o-Q decline in Q3 net profit; stock slips ~2%

8 Feb 2023 , 11:29 AM

Bharti Airtel’s stock dipped nearly 2% in Wednesday’s morning session as the telco operator reported a sharp decline in its net profit during the quarter ended December 2022.

Airtel’s net profit fell nearly 26% quarter on quarter to Rs1,588.20 crore, falling short of expectations in the October-December period.

‘The company reported a PAT of Rs1,588 crore vs expectations of Rs2,712 crore, owing to a one-time exceptional charge of Rs670 crore on account of provision for license fee related to earlier periods in one of the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiaries and loss profit from associates of Rs368 crore (vs. Rs350 crore profit expected) as Indus Towers provided for dues of Vodafone Idea.

However, Airtel’s consolidated net profit increased 91% y-o-y, owing to lower spectrum usage charges (SUC), strong 4G user additions, and data consumption growth.

Airtel also reported higher-than-expected consolidated revenue in the December quarter of Rs35,804.40 crore, up 20% year on year and 3.7% sequentially, driven by strong ARPU growth and sustained momentum in its postpaid, enterprise, homes, and Africa businesses.

At around 11.18 AM, Bharti Airtel was trading 1.16% lower at Rs776.75, against the previous close of Rs785.90 on NSE. The counter touched an intraday high and low of Rs778 and Rs765 respectively.

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