Bharti Airtel, India's second-largest telecom operator, has posted more than twofold year-on-year jump in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 2,008 crore. The telco said its Q4 scorecard was backed by strong performance delivery across the portfolio.Its CEO Gopal Vittal exuded optimism about opportunities in the coming years and Airtel being "well-poised" as a company. "First, our ability to execute consistently to a simple strategy of winning with quality customers and delivering the best experience to them. Second, our future proofed business model with massive investments in both infrastructure and digital capabilities," he said.
Airtel Dividend
The New Delhi headquartered company has also recommended a dividend of Rs 3 for the financial year 2021-22. "The Board has considered and recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per fully paid-up equity share of face value Rs 5 each and Rs 0.75 per partly paid-up equity share of face value Rs 5 each (paid-up Rs 1.25 per share) for the financial year 2021-22. The dividend is in proportion to the amount paid-up on each equity share of face value Rs 5 each," the company said in a regulatory filing. The record date for the same will be announced later. Airtel competes in the market with Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and state-owned BSNL/MTNL. The company promised to maintain razor sharp focus on financial flexibility, optimising the capital structure and finance cost.Airtel's revenue from operations rose 22. 3 per cent to Rs 31,500 cr during Q4 FY22, compared to the year-ago period. The net profit before exceptional items for Q4'22 came in at Rs 1,860 crore, while exceptional gain boosted the net profit numbers to Rs 2,008 crore.As a result, profit after tax was over 2.5 times higher for the January-March quarter, compared to Rs 759 crore recorded in the year ago period. "The net exceptional gain of Rs 9,062 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 comprises of gain on account of sale of telecom tower assets of Rs 7,593 million, gain on account of settlement with a strategic vendor of Rs 9,923 million, charges on account of provision of levies of Rs 3,216 million, charge on account of impairment of property, plant and equipment of Rs 3,810 million and charge on account of prepaying bonds of Rs 1,428 million," the company explained in its quarterly report.
Airtel's ARPU up to Rs 178
Airtel's Average Revenue Per User or ARPU, a key metrics for all telcos, came in at Rs 178 for the quarter, up from Rs 145 in Q4'21 "led by healthy flow through of tariff revision and strong 4G customer additions during the year", the company said. Sequentially too, the APRU was notably higher than Rs 163 logged in the December quarter.
For the full year FY22, the Sunil Mittal-led telco reported a net profit of Rs 4,255 crore, against a loss of Rs 15,084 crore in the previous fiscal (FY21), marking a turnaround of performance in a market that has seen announcements of significant reforms. Bharti Airtel posted a revenue of Rs 116,547 crore for FY22, up from Rs 100,616 crore recorded in the previous financial year. This translated into a topline growth of about 16 per cent for full year.