Bharti Airtel Q4 preview: Sharp dip in PAT likely despite revenue growth

Telecom major Bharti Airtel is scheduled to report its March quarter earnings for financial year 2018-19 (Q4FY19) on Monday. Analysts expect the company to report net loss on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, even though its wireless revenues are likely to see a sequential jump following the implementation of minimum average revenue per user (ARPU) plans for low-end customers.

Capex guidance for FY20, mobile broadband subscriber addition, timeline for rights issue and Africa IPO, and other balance sheet deleveraging plans will be the key things to watch in the company’s results announcement, analysts say.

Brokerage firm Emkay Global pegs the consolidated loss in Q4FY19 at Rs 854.6 crore, as compared to a profit of Rs 101.7 crore in the year-ago period.