Bharti Airtel posts 24 percent jump in second quarter net profit

Telecom major Bharti Airtel reported a 24 percent increase in consolidated profit to 10,710 crore rupees for the second quarter ended September 2026. The firm posted a profit of 8,651 crore rupees in the same period last year, driven by higher per-user revenue after tariff changes.

Revenue and Growth

Consolidated revenue from operations grew by 16.7 percent to 60,877.5 crore rupees compared to 52,145.4 crore rupees a year ago. India revenue rose by 9.4 percent to 42,308 crore rupees. India mobile service revenue increased by 10.1 percent year-on-year, while Average Revenue Per User expanded to 271 rupees from 256 rupees. Executive vice-chairman Gopal Vittal noted that Africa delivered a strong quarter with 6.7 percent constant currency revenue growth.

Customer Base and Usage

Global customer base grew by 11 percent to 69.25 crore users. The India customer base also rose by about 11 percent to 49.86 crore, with the mobile customer base reaching 37.72 crore and home service growing by 29 percent to 1.53 crore. Mobile data usage per customer increased by 28.8 percent to 36.5 GB. The company added 12 lakh postpaid customers, taking that base to 3.12 crore, and gained 29 lakh smartphone data customers.

Investments and Debt

Consolidated capital expenditure stood at 12,467 crore rupees, which includes 9,908 crore rupees for India. The company deployed 497 towers and 11,684 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter, alongside investing 2,826 crore rupees in a strategic land parcel for data centre expansion. Net debt declined by about 14 percent to 1.66 lakh crore rupees.

Context

Telecom companies in India have focused heavily on raising per-user revenue through tariff adjustments and expanding high-speed data networks to improve financial returns. These shifts reflect a broader industry trend toward monetization of heavy digital consumption and investments in digital infrastructure.