Bharti Airtel profit zooms nearly 90% but analysts flag miss on India mobile average revenue per user

The brokerage firm also highlighted the strong 4G/postpaid net addition and lower subscriber churn compared to the previous quarter.

It noted that the telecom saw higher than expected capex which led to lower free cash flow (FCF) and that higher finance lease obligations resulted in higher net debt versus expectations.

JPMorgan, too pointed out that Bharti Airtel’s India wireless revenue growth was soft led by subscriptions as ARPU was flat.

It added that capex continued to rise for India overall/wireless, which indicates aggressive investments in 5G and 4G Catch Up rollouts as seen in BTS count. The global brokerage expects higher 5G Capex, lack of tariff hikes and deflation in premium ARPUs to drive down return on invested capital (ROIC).

Switzerland-based UBS said that Q4 was slightly softer than expected with consolidated revenue 3 percent below its estimates. It said India mobile revenues were up, driven by flat ARPUs.

Jefferies, on the other hand, said growth in homes and enterprise business remained strong. According to the brokerage, strong 4G and postpaid subscriber additions along with healthy FCF generation were the key highlights in the quarter. It expects Bharti Airtel to deliver a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent in revenue and 17 percent in EBITDA over FY23-25.