Bharti Airtel FY24 Annual Earnings Summary
4 quarters covered · ₹1,49,940 Cr revenue · ₹8,557 Cr PAT · 53.5% average EBITDA margin.
Quarter-by-quarter progression
Management promises made during the year
Current-quarter commentary contains related risk or weakness, so the promise appears not to have been delivered yet.
Q2 FY24Current-quarter commentary contains related risk or weakness, so the promise appears not to have been delivered yet.
Q3 FY24Risks flagged during the year
Supreme Court disallowed deduction for license spectrum usage royalty; company made provisions but further legal recourse is uncertain.
Q3 FY24 · highManagement acknowledged that meaningful ARPU improvement requires industry tariff repair, which remains uncertain.
Q4 FY24 · highIndustry ARPU remains low (~INR 200); management stressed need for substantial tariff hikes but cannot act alone due to competitive dynamics.
Q1 FY24 · mediumReliance Jio's low-cost 4G feature phone could slow Airtel's upgrade from feature phones to smartphones, impacting ARPU growth.
Q1 FY24 · medium5G smartphone shipments are only 48% of total, and installed base is 14-15%, limiting 5G offload and monetization.
Q2 FY24 · mediumLarge global OTTs are deferring bandwidth and messaging spend, impacting B2B revenue growth.
Q2 FY24 · medium5G usage is inflated by free unlimited data; real incremental ARPU from 5G remains unproven.
Q2 FY24 · mediumManagement unable to commit to tariff hike timing; unilateral increases may not be followed by peers.
Q3 FY24 · mediumFree 5G data in India is a headwind to monetization; management sees no differential pricing for 5G.
Q3 FY24 · mediumConsolidated revenue was impacted by devaluation of Naira and Malawian Kwacha, affecting reported numbers.
Q4 FY24 · mediumAnalyst raised concern about Vodafone Idea's CapEx plans potentially slowing Bharti's market share gains; management acknowledged need to stay at top of game.
Q4 FY24 · mediumGlobal business (50% of enterprise) under pressure from OTT cutbacks and messaging shift; domestic growth may not fully offset.
What changed through the year
Q1 FY24 · Full-year CapEx guidance of INR 28,000-31,000 crore
CapEx front-loaded in H1, with full-year spend in line with guidance, focused on 5G, broadband, and data centers.
Q1 FY24 · ARPU target of INR 300 as longer-term goalpost
Management targets ARPU of INR 300 over the long term, driven by premiumization levers and potential tariff reset.
Q1 FY24 · Rural site rollout completion by November-December 2023
60% of 60,000 high-potential villages already covered; rollout expected to conclude by year-end.
Q2 FY24 · CapEx moderation in FY25
Peak CapEx in FY24; radio CapEx will moderate next year, though transport and data center spend continues.
Q2 FY24 · FWA full rollout by end of calendar 2023
Airtel Air Fiber (FWA) with outdoor CPE to be launched in full by end of 2023, complementing FTTH.
Q2 FY24 · Global B2B order book improvement in 2-3 quarters
Expect global business order book to pick up in about two to three quarters as OTT spending normalizes.
Q3 FY24 · CapEx moderation in FY25
Management indicated that FY24 is an elevated CapEx year, and CapEx will moderate in the next fiscal year.
Q3 FY24 · Target India net debt-to-EBITDA below 2.5
Harjeet Kohli stated the goal is to reach closer to 2.5 or below for India leverage in the next 4-6 quarters.
Q3 FY24 · Gradual move from NSA to SA over two years
Management expects to start refarming 4G spectrum to 5G and move to standalone architecture over the next two years.
Q4 FY24 · CapEx moderation in FY25
Management expects clear moderation in overall CapEx in FY25 after peak levels in FY24, driven by lower wireless CapEx.
Q4 FY24 · FWA to scale in Q2 FY25
Fixed wireless access will be at scale in the coming eight weeks (by Q2 FY25), complementing FTTH in weak fiber areas.
Q4 FY24 · 25,000 new sites rollout
Expect to roll out over 25,000 sites in the next couple of quarters to plug coverage gaps in rural areas.
Q4 FY24 · Domestic enterprise growth 18-20%
Domestic enterprise business continues to grow at 18-20%, driven by adjacencies like CPaaS, IoT, and cloud.