Airtel's Q1 Fiscal Year 26 profit experienced a spike of 14% compared to the previous quarter, surpassing projected figures.
Airtel Reports Strong Q1FY26 Growth, Adds 690,000 Postpaid Users
Bharti Airtel, one of India's leading telecommunications companies, has reported impressive growth in its Q1FY26 financials. The consolidated revenue for the quarter grew by 3.3% compared to the previous quarter and an impressive 28.5% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 49,463 crore.
The growth was primarily driven by strong performances in the India mobile segment and Airtel Africa. India mobile revenues increased by 21.6% YoY, while overall India business revenues grew by 29% YoY to Rs. 37,585 crore.
Airtel also witnessed a significant increase in its customer base and data usage. The company added 4 million new smartphone data users and net customer additions reached an all-time high of 939,000, supported by growth in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access (FWA) segments.
The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for Airtel rose to Rs. 250, up 2% sequentially, reflecting better monetization compared to competitors. This increase was supported by Airtel's ongoing strategy to upgrade users to premium offerings and an extra day in the quarter.
Robust profitability and cost efficiency also contributed to Airtel's growth. Profit before tax surged by 435.1% quarter-over-quarter to Rs. 10,421.60 crore, supported by effective cost management and EBITDA margin improvement to 56.9% consolidated and 59.5% in India.
Airtel Africa's EBITDA margin also improved notably by 292 basis points YoY to 48.1% (constant currency). The company invested Rs. 7,273 crore in capex for the quarter overall, including Rs. 1,034 crore in Africa, indicating continued investment in network expansion and quality enhancement.
However, operating margins for Airtel softened slightly to 56.9%, compared to 57.2% in the previous quarter. Monthly churn for Airtel also rose to 2.7%, indicating intensified competition.
In terms of user behaviour, Airtel users consumed an average of 26.9 GB/month, while Airtel-Jio users consumed approximately 37 GB/month. Voice usage per user on Airtel's mobile services averaged 1,142 minutes per month in Q1FY26.
Airtel's home broadband business added a record 939,000 net subscribers in Q1FY26, marking a 7.6% sequential revenue growth. Airtel added 3.9 million new 4G/5G customers in Q1FY26, bringing the total to 280.7 million.
Despite the decline in Airtel's mobile services in India by 7.7% YoY due to exiting low-margin segments, the segment still reported revenues of Rs. 27,396.6 crore in Q1FY26. Total data used on the Airtel network in Q1FY26 was 22.84 GB.
In summary, Bharti Airtel’s Q1FY26 growth was fueled by expanding its customer base, enhancing ARPU through premium offerings, strong performance in India and Africa markets, operational efficiency, and strategic business focus on high-margin services.
The impressive financial growth of Bharti Airtel extended beyond telecommunications, as the company demonstrated strong investments in technology, particularly in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access (FWA) segments.
In the realm of finance, Airtel's robust profitability significantly increased, with profit before tax surging by 435.1% quarter-over-quarter and EBITDA margin improvement in both consolidated and India business operations.
