Bharti Airtel on Tuesday reported a strong performance for the first quarter of FY27, driven by higher average revenue per user (ARPU), continued premiumisation of its mobile portfolio, and robust growth in its Homes and Airtel Business segments. The company reported a 37.3% increase in net profit to Rs 8,167 crore in the first quarter of FY 2026–27. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 5,948 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Revenue from operations during the quarter rose 18.3% to Rs 58,539 crore from Rs 49,462.6 crore in the June quarter of the previous year. India EBITDA stood at Rs24,781 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 60.1%. The consolidated net debt-to-EBITDA (annualised) ratio improved to 1.17 as of June 30, 2026, from 1.70 a year earlier.
Excluding lease obligations, the consolidated net debt-to-EBITDAaL ratio stood at 0.69. The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to Rs264 during the quarter from Rs250 in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, marking a 9.2% year-on-year increase and remaining the highest among Indian telecom operators. Airtel said the increase was driven by continued portfolio premiumisation and a higher share of postpaid subscribers.
The company recorded its highest-ever quarterly postpaid customer additions, adding one million subscribers during the quarter to take its postpaid customer base to 30 million. Its smartphone data customer base increased by 21.1 million over the past year, registering 7.5% year-on-year growth. During the quarter, Airtel also launched Postpaid Fast Lane, a service powered by 5G network slicing technology aimed at delivering an enhanced network experience for postpaid users.
On the network expansion front, Airtel deployed 1,579 new towers and 14,540 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter. Over the past year, the company rolled out 7,631 additional towers and laid 45,171 kilometres of fibre, strengthening the reach and resilience of its digital infrastructure.
"We delivered yet another quarter of strong performance, supported by the resilience of our diversified portfolio and sharp execution across businesses. India revenue increased 4.2% sequentially while Africa delivered 5.7% constant currency growth," said Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel.
He said the India mobile business recorded 3.8% sequential growth, driven by continued improvement in the customer mix. "Our postpaid strategy continues to deliver strong outcomes with the highest-ever customer additions of one million. We also added five million smartphone customers during the quarter while maintaining an industry-leading ARPU of Rs264," Vittal said. He added that Airtel completed an earnings per share (EPS)-accretive share swap transaction during the quarter, increasing its stake in Airtel Africa Plc to over 79%, reflecting the company's long-term confidence in the African market and its disciplined growth strategy.
