NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced that its consolidated net loss has continued to narrow in the second quarter (Q2FY21), driven by sharply surging revenues. According to the firm, while net loss contracted to Rs 763 crore during the period, compared to a massive Rs 23,045 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, its consolidated revenues touched an all-time high of Rs 25,785 crore, rising 22 per cent year-on-year.
The company’s results indicate the general direction that the telecom service provider sector is heading toward after multiple quarters of high costs, and AGR provisioning. While some telcos are expected to do better/worse than their rivals, the overall industry is likely to be on a steady climb upwards.
For Airtel, the quarter’s performance was bolstered by an all-round growth across geographies and segments, an increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) as well as strong 4G additions. Airtel’s India business also delivered during the quarter, with strong growth across revenue, margins and customers. India revenue rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 18,747 crore, with mobile sector revenues growing by 26 per cent.
ARPU continued to rise, this time coming it at Rs 162 compared to Rs 157 in the preceding quarter. 4G data users increased 48.1 per cent to 152.7 million compared to the previous year. Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Airtel said, “despite being a seasonally weak quarter, we delivered a strong performance with revenue growing at 22 per cent year-on-year” adding that it was committed to improving the profitability.
As for the company’s AGR liabilities, it said that the group has represented to the government that it has already paid more than 10 per cent of the total dues as demanded by the Department of Telecommunications) and “will ensure ongoing compliance” with the court orders.