Bharti Airtel has started the financial year on a strong note, with the telecom major reporting a 37.3% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit to ₹8,167 crore for the April-June quarter of FY27. The performance was driven by higher-paying customers, stronger revenue, rising average revenue per user (ARPU) and continued growth across its India business.
The company’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 18.4% year-on-year to ₹58,539 crore in the first quarter. Revenue was also up 5.7% from ₹55,383 crore in the previous quarter, while net profit increased 11.5% sequentially from ₹7,325 crore.
The results underline a significant shift in Airtel’s strategy: instead of chasing subscriber numbers alone, the company is increasingly focusing on customers who generate higher revenue. This premiumisation of its subscriber base has helped Airtel improve its financial performance even in a highly competitive Indian telecom market.
A key indicator of this trend was Airtel’s ARPU, or average revenue per user. ARPU increased to ₹264 in Q1 FY27 from ₹250 in the same quarter last year and ₹257 in the previous quarter. The figure remains considerably higher than Reliance Jio’s reported ARPU of around ₹215.6.
For a telecom company, ARPU is closely watched because it shows how much revenue is being generated from each customer. Airtel’s continued improvement suggests that users are moving towards higher-value plans and services.
The strongest growth came from the postpaid segment. Airtel added a record one million postpaid customers during the quarter, taking its total postpaid subscriber base beyond 30 million. The company also added five million smartphone customers during the quarter.
Bharti Airtel Executive Vice-Chairman Gopal Vittal said the company’s postpaid strategy continued to produce strong results, with the latest quarter recording its highest-ever postpaid additions.
The company’s India business remained the main engine of growth. Revenue from India operations increased 9.7% year-on-year to ₹41,214 crore, compared with ₹37,584 crore a year earlier. The growth came from the continued premiumisation of its mobile customer base as well as momentum in its homes and enterprise businesses.
Mobile services generated ₹29,928 crore, accounting for about 73% of Airtel’s total revenue. India business net income rose to ₹7,261.5 crore from ₹5,292 crore in Q1 FY26.
Airtel’s subscriber base in India crossed 491.8 million by the end of June, up 12.8% from a year earlier. The company, however, remains behind market leader Reliance Jio, which had around 533.3 million subscribers.
The quality of Airtel’s customer base is also changing. Its smartphone data customer base increased by 21.1 million over the past year to 301.8 million. These customers now account for around 80% of Airtel’s India subscriber base.
Data usage is rising rapidly as well. Average data consumption per Airtel customer increased 27.7% year-on-year to 34.4 GB during the June quarter, compared with 26.9 GB a year earlier. The increase reflects growing dependence on mobile internet for video, social media, digital payments, work and other everyday services.
The improvement was not limited to revenue. Airtel’s consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, rose 19% year-on-year to ₹33,599 crore. Its consolidated EBITDA margin stood at 57.4%, while the India business delivered an EBITDA margin of 60.1%.
Airtel also made progress in reducing its debt burden. Net debt declined 35% to ₹81,852 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹1.25 trillion a year earlier. Lower debt gives the company greater financial flexibility as it continues investing in network infrastructure, 5G and digital services.
The company spent around ₹13,386 crore on capital expenditure during the quarter, including ₹9,698 crore for its India operations. Such investments remain important as data consumption grows and telecom companies expand their 5G networks and capacity.
Airtel also increased its stake in Airtel Africa to more than 79% following a share-swap transaction. The move reflects the company’s confidence in Africa’s long-term growth prospects and adds another important component to its international operations.
However, the quarterly numbers were not entirely free of complications. Airtel recorded an exceptional charge of ₹353.4 crore related to a proposed settlement of a commercial dispute involving one of its subsidiaries. This was partly offset by a ₹389.8 crore benefit following a favourable order connected with business losses from earlier years.
Airtel’s latest earnings also come as competition in India’s telecom sector remains intense. With Reliance Jio continuing to lead in subscriber numbers, Airtel’s strategy is increasingly centred on improving customer value rather than simply expanding its user base.
The company’s focus on premium customers, postpaid growth, smartphone adoption and rising data consumption is helping it build a stronger revenue base. At the same time, investments in 5G, broadband, enterprise services and digital platforms could provide additional avenues for growth.