Brands
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.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
