Bharti Airtel posts profit of Rs 854 crore in Q3

On the back of exceptional gains of Rs 1,152 crore, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday swung back into the black after six quarters, posting a net profit of Rs 854 crore, far ahead of Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs 158.98 crore.

The company’s net loss before the exceptional gains is Rs 298 crore. The Bharti board also gave an in-principle nod for raising of funds of up to Rs 7,500 crore via debt as when appropriate.

Bharti maintained its surge on average revenue per user (Arpu) and data usage per customer, beating rival Reliance Jio. The subscriber addition, during the quarter, including that of 4G users, continued to be strong.