Airtel profit halves in Q3 even as revenues surge nearly 20 per cent

GURUGRAM: Bharti Airtel reported a steep fall in third-quarter profit for FY26, even as revenues climbed sharply on the back of robust momentum in India and a strong showing in Africa.

The telecom group posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8,502 crore for the quarter, down from Rs 16,134 crore a year earlier, according to an exchange filing. Consolidated revenue jumped 19.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 53,981 crore, with sequential growth of 3.5 per cent driven by higher mobile usage and improved execution across markets.

Sales and marketing spends rose 17 per cent to Rs 3,426 crore, reflecting Airtel’s push on brand building and customer acquisition.

India revenues climbed 13.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 39,226 crore, supported by premiumisation in mobile services, strong growth in home broadband and steady performance in Airtel Business. Mobile services alone generated Rs 28,651 crore, while the Africa business delivered revenues of Rs 15,010 crore, aided by digital-led distribution.

Home services continued to shine, with revenue surging 32.5 per cent to Rs 2,000 crore and record net additions of 1.16 million customers. Digital TV revenue was flat at Rs 755 crore.

At the operating level, consolidated Ebitda rose to Rs 31,144 crore, with margins at 57.7 per cent. The India business posted an Ebitda of Rs 23,676 crore, translating into a margin of 60.4 per cent.

Subscriber metrics remained strong, with smartphone data users rising by 20.8 million year-on-year to account for 79 per cent of mobile customers. ARPU improved to Rs 259 from Rs 245 a year ago, while average monthly data usage climbed 29.2 per cent to 29.8 gb per user. Postpaid additions stood at 0.62 million.

Commenting on the results, executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal, said the quarter reflected the strength of Airtel’s diversified portfolio, with Africa delivering an exceptional performance driven by the company’s home-grown digital platforms.