Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel reported a consistent Q1 FY26 performance with consolidated revenue reaching ₹49,463 Crores. India revenues, excluding Indus, stood at ₹33,820 Crores, and the India EBITDAaL margin improved by 65 basis points sequentially to 51.4%. The company generated ₹11,928 Crores in operating free cash flow (EBITDAaL minus capex) and continued its deleveraging efforts, reducing India net debt to EBITDAaL to 1.3. A credit rating upgrade from Crisil was also noted, reflecting strong financial prudence.

The company is making significant progress on its ESG commitments, with 64% of sites now green and nearly half of data center electricity from renewable sources. Diversity initiatives have increased women's representation in the total workforce to just under 19% from 11% two years ago. The Airtel Foundation's scholarship program supports talented students from diverse backgrounds, with women comprising 51% of beneficiaries, fostering gender equality in education.

The mobile segment added 1.2 million customers to its overall base and 3.9 million smartphone data customers. Postpaid net adds remained steady at 0.7 million, accounting for 57% of total net additions. ARPU stood at ₹250, driven by mix improvement. The 5G expansion is on track, with 152 million 5G customers and 5G shipments now accounting for 86% of total smartphone shipments, contributing to 36% of total network traffic.

The broadband business delivered a strong quarter with a record 939,000 quarterly net adds, including 5.4 lakh FWA net adds. The company aims to increase its fiber home passes quarterly run rate from 1.6 million to 2.5 million. In Digital TV, a loss of 2 lakh customers was partially offset by IPTV net adds, with the company's strategy to eliminate set-top box subsidies paying off with strong cash generation and positive customer response to IPTV's enhanced experience and content slate.

Airtel Business reported revenues of approximately ₹5,060 Crores, with underlying revenue growth of 2% sequentially after adjusting for the planned exit from low-margin commoditized business. The segment saw multiple deals in IoT and security. The digital portfolio is being strengthened across Cloud, Cybersecurity, Financial Services, IoT, and CPaaS, with continued strategic investments. Airtel Cloud, built on telco-grade infrastructure, is positioned as a significant growth area, with the company now extending its software platforms globally to other telcos.

Airtel Finance is scaling up with accelerated loan disbursements and credit card issuance, integrated into Airtel Thanks. Payments Bank saw its monthly transacting users reach 98 million, with an annualized revenue run rate exceeding ₹3,100 Crores (up 27% YoY) and deposits growing 29% YoY to about ₹3,750 Crores. Africa operations maintained strong constant currency revenue growth of 6.7% sequentially, with reported revenue growth of 6.2% and EBITDAaL of ₹4,456 Crores, maintaining a net-debt to EBITDAaL ratio of under one.

Bharti Airtel's strategy revolves around building a diverse and resilient portfolio, winning quality customers, delivering a brilliant customer experience, and leveraging digital capabilities. The company is prioritizing investments in fiber home passes and FWA to expand its broadband addressable market. It is also focused on ARPU improvement through smartphone and postpaid upgrades, and international roaming. The digital strategy includes embedding AI at the core of its platforms and leveraging partnerships, such as with Google for cloud storage and Perplexity for AI capabilities, to enhance customer value and drive growth.