Bharti Airtel reported another drop in results for the fiscal second quarter to September, as regulatory price cuts and competitive pressure in the Indian mobile market offset growth in customer numbers. Revenues fell 6 percent year-on-year to INR 204.2 billion, and EBITDA was down 20.7 percent to INR 21 percent to INR 63.4 billion.
The net profit plunged 65 percent to INR 1.2 billion, but was saved from another loss by one-time tax asset gains. Operating cash flow was a negative INR 13.4 billion. Airtel said it would still pay an interim dividend of INR 2.5 per share, thanks to dividends from subsidiaries.
Excluding divestments and the cuts to termination rates in India, Airtel said revenue growth was 0.5 percent, supported by 225 percent annual growth in mobile data traffic. The operator continued to increase investment in mobile broadband, with capex up 3 percent year-on-year to INR 76.8 billion.
In India, total revenues fell 11 percent to INR 102.5 billion. The drop was 3.6 percent after excluding the impact of the regulatory price cuts. EBITDA in the home market fell 33 percent to INR 42.5 billion, reducing the margin to 28.5 percent from 37.8 a year ago. While profits were up in the B2B, pay-TV and residential service markets, mobile EBITDA dropped 49 percent to INR 21.5 billion.
The number of mobile customers in India was up 14.4 percent year-on-year to 329.7 million, but Airtel lost 6.6 million customers compared to the end of June. ARPU was down 28.8 percent year-on-year and by 4.5 percent compared to Q2 to INR 101. Total mobile service revenue fell 17.5 percent from a year ago to INR 100.7 billion.
Nearly 3 million more customers started using data services in the quarter, for a total of 97.7 million, and the number of 4G users in India increased by 12.8 percent on a quarterly basis to 65.7 million. Average data usage per customer rose 17.2 percent from Q2 to 9.2 GB.
In Africa, revenues from continuing operations were up 11 percent at constant currency rates to USD 824 million, and Airtel increased EBITDA by 24 percent to USD 305 million. The operator more than doubled capex year-on-year, to USD 106 million, as the LTE roll-out continues to support data demand.
Nearly 29 percent of customers in Africa were using data services, and they consumed an average 1.1 GB in Q3, up 10 percent from a year ago. The total customer base reached 94.1 million, up by nearly 3 million from Q2, and ARPU was up slightly over the same period to USD 3.0.
