Bharti Airtel back in the black, posts Rs 854-crore profit in Q3

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 854 crore in the quarter ended December 2020 (Q3 of FY21), after six straight quarters of losses. However, its Indian operations, despite a substantial improvement in financial performance, are still in the red — its net income from Indian operations, without considering exceptional items, was negative Rs 9.6 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 682.5 crore in the previous quarter.

While its average revenue per user (ARPU) went up by 2.4 per cent from Rs 162 in Q2 to Rs 166 this quarter, it was lower than that of Reliance Jio, which saw 4 per cent growth in the same period. The two companies have been neck and neck on Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margins. Bharti’s Ebitda as a percentage of revenue stood at 45.2 per cent and that of Jio was at 44.2 per cent.