Worlds Leading Telecom Firm Announces Q1 FY26 Results: Revenue Rises 28.5% to Rs 49,463 Crore, Net Profit More Than Doubles to Rs 5,948 Crore

Bharti Airtel Limited reported strong financial performance for the first quarter of FY26, driven by growth across its India and Africa operations. The telecom Large-Cap posted consolidated revenues of Rs 49,463 crore, marking a 28.5 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase and 3.3 per cent quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) growth. Net income (before exceptional items) more than doubled to Rs 5,948 crore, up from Rs 2,925 crore in Q1 FY25.

The company recorded consolidated EBITDA of Rs 28,167 crore, a 41.2 per cent YoY rise, with an EBITDA margin of 56.9 per cent. EBIT stood at Rs 15,621 crore, up 67.0 per cent YoY, and the EBIT margin expanded by 729 basis points to 31.6 per cent. Total capex during the quarter was Rs 8,307 crore, and the company’s customer base across 15 countries reached 605 million.

Bharti Airtel’s India operations delivered revenue of Rs 37,585 crore in Q1 FY26, up 29.0 per cent YoY. EBITDA grew by 43.4 per cent to Rs 22,352 crore, while EBIT increased by 80.1 per cent to Rs 11,815 crore. The EBIT margin improved significantly to 31.4 per cent.

India mobile services revenue rose by 21.6 per cent, led by an increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), which rose to Rs 250 from Rs 211 in Q1 FY25. The company added 0.7 million postpaid users, taking the total postpaid customer base to 26.6 million. Smartphone data customers grew by 21.3 million YoY, now accounting for 77 per cent of total mobile users. Mobile data usage reached 26.9 GB per customer per month.

During the quarter, Bharti Airtel added around 1.8K new towers and 7.5K mobile broadband stations. Capex for the India business stood at Rs 7,273 crore.

The Homes business reported a 25.7 per cent YoY increase in revenue, with net customer additions reaching 939K—an all-time high. The total Wi-Fi customer base rose to 11.0 million. Around 1.6 million fibre home passes were added during the quarter.

However, Digital TV revenue declined by 1.8 per cent YoY, with the customer base at 15.7 million. The newly launched IPTV service added 0.65 million users. Airtel Business saw a 7.7 per cent revenue decline due to a portfolio shift away from low-margin services, though underlying revenue remained stable.

Bharti Airtel’s Africa operations also reported robust performance. Revenue in constant currency terms rose by 24.9 per cent YoY. EBITDA margin was 48.1 per cent, improving by 292 basis points, and EBIT margin reached 31.4 per cent. The Africa customer base stood at 169 million, and capex was Rs 1,034 crore.

Following the results announcement, Bharti Airtel shares were among the Top Gainers on the Nifty 50 index. The stock climbed 0.64 per cent, hitting an intraday high of Rs 1,964.80, reflecting a gain of over 1.7 per cent. 

On the same day, Indian markets traded in the red after the Reserve Bank of India decided to keep its policy rate unchanged. As of 10:12 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 was down 0.25 per cent at 24,591.15, and the BSE Sensex fell 0.16 per cent to 80,587.2.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.