Airtel pairs strong FY26 growth with AI and 5G expansion

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel reported a strong financial performance in FY2025-26, with consolidated revenue rising 16.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.11 trillion, driven by sustained growth in its India and Africa businesses, expanding digital infrastructure and continued investment in artificial intelligence and 5G.

According to the company’s integrated annual report for the year ended March 31, 2026, consolidated gross revenue increased to Rs 2,109,728 million from Rs 1,815,110 million a year earlier.

Consolidated EBITDA after lease (EBITDAaL) grew 15.7 per cent on a comparable basis to Rs 1,079,460 million, with the EBITDAaL margin remaining resilient at 51.2 per cent. Net profit before exceptional items rose to Rs 301,127 million.

On a standalone basis, Airtel reported revenue of Rs 1,214,927 million, EBITDAaL of Rs 623,918 million and net profit before exceptional items of Rs 170,906 million. Operating expenditure stood at Rs 617,053 million, excluding access charges, licence fees and cost of goods sold.

The report said Airtel remains the world’s second-largest mobile operator by customer base, serving nearly 666 million customers across 15 countries and covering a population of more than two billion.

In India, the company serves 482.4 million customers, with network coverage extending to more than 97 per cent of the population. Airtel Africa increased its customer base 10.5 per cent to 183.5 million, while voice revenue in constant currency grew 12.8 per cent. Average monthly data consumption reached 8.9 GB per customer.

The group’s associate operations added 57.4 million customers in Bangladesh and 20.6 million in Sri Lanka.

Airtel continued to expand its digital infrastructure during the year, rolling out more than 43,000 kilometres of fibre and deploying nearly 7,900 additional network sites. Home broadband infrastructure also expanded, with fibre home passes reaching 45 million as the company accelerated fixed wireless access deployment.

Artificial intelligence emerged as a major focus area. Airtel said its network-integrated AI-powered spam detection system has blocked 86 billion spam voice calls, 3.5 billion spam SMS messages and 1.1 million malicious links since launch, making it one of the company’s key customer protection initiatives.

On the sustainability front, Airtel received CRISIL’s GVC Level 1 grading and an ISS ESG Prime rating, while ranking 71st globally on the Corporate Knights Clean200 list.

The company said AI and machine learning-based network optimisation saved 133,198 MWh of electricity by switching low-load radios into sleep mode. Upgraded battery systems also reduced diesel consumption by nearly 2 million litres, lowering carbon emissions by around 5,200 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Women now account for more than 20 per cent of Airtel’s global workforce, reflecting the company’s continued focus on workforce diversity.

As of March 31, 2026, Airtel’s property, plant and equipment stood at Rs 1,570,659 million, while right-of-use assets were valued at Rs 673,244 million. Goodwill on the balance sheet stood at Rs 566,859 million.

The company also spent Rs 2,279 million on corporate social responsibility and community initiatives during the financial year.

The annual report reaffirmed Airtel’s long-term focus on strengthening its 5G Standalone readiness, AI-powered network automation, cloud services and digital infrastructure as it prepares for the next phase of telecom-led digital transformation.