Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, delivered a strong financial performance for the January-March quarter (Q4 FY25), with a massive 432% year-on-year surge in consolidated net profit to ₹11,022 crore, compared to ₹2,071.6 crore in the same period last year. This spike was aided by a one-time tax gain and steady subscriber additions.
Revenue Rises on Tariff Hikes, Subscriber Growth
The telecom major reported a 27.3% jump in quarterly revenue to ₹47,876 crore, up from ₹37,599 crore a year earlier. The growth was largely attributed to the tariff hike introduced in July, which boosted the average revenue per user (ARPU) — a key industry metric — by 17% to ₹245.
Its India subscriber base reached 42.4 crore as of March 2025, while the overall subscriber count stood at 590.51 million, registering a 2.3% quarter-on-quarter growth.
FY25 Annual Results Show Fourfold Profit Rise
For the full year ended March 31, 2025, Airtel reported a nearly fourfold increase in net profit to ₹33,556 crore from ₹7,467 crore in FY24. Annual revenue from operations rose by 15.33% to ₹1,72,985 crore, highlighting sustained growth momentum across mobile, home broadband, and enterprise segments.
Strategic Partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink
During the quarter, Bharti Airtel signed an agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink high-speed satellite internet services to India — a strategic move to expand its rural and underserved market coverage. Rival Reliance Jio also announced a similar agreement with SpaceX, signaling increased competition in the satellite broadband space.
Usage Trends and Dividend Declaration
- Total minutes of usage on the Airtel network hit 95 billion, up 4.9% YoY.
- The company had 28.58 million home broadband customers, growing 3.4% annually.
- The Board recommended a final dividend of ₹16 per fully paid-up equity share and ₹4 per partly paid-up share, pending shareholder approval at the upcoming AGM.
Analyst Outlook
Analysts from Bernstein noted that higher data consumption, improved pricing, and uptake of premium services will continue to drive ARPU. Indian telecom rates, being relatively low, leave room for further price hikes, strengthening the sector’s profitability in the coming quarters.
Bharti Airtel’s Q4 results signal strong operational efficiency, pricing power, and strategic foresight, positioning it well to lead in both terrestrial and satellite-based connectivity solutions in India.
