Bharti Airtel Posts Good Q1FY14 Results

The telecom sector is once again on the verge of reclaiming its position as one of the most sought-after sector. The increased data usage by Indians is likely to play a major role going forward. Today, the largest telecom company Bharti Airtel has come out with a good set of numbers for Q1FY14. The company's total income witnessed growth of 9.18% on a YoY basis to stand at Rs 20264 crore as against Rs 18560 crore for Q1FY13.

The EBITDA has improved by 19.30% on a YoY basis to stand at Rs 6545 core for Q1FY14 and the EBITDA margins stood at 32.30% witnessing an upmove of 274 basis points on a yearly basis. The EBITDA margin for India improved from 31.9% last year to 34.9%, while international margins improved from 24% to 25.4%. The consolidated net profit rose higher-than-expected by 35.5% on a sequential basis. However, it witnessed a decline of 10% on a YoY basis to stand at Rs 689 crore.

Growth in consolidated revenues was led by 10.9% growth in Mobile India, 34.0% in Digital TV, 17.9% in Airtel business (B2B) and 37.1% in South Asia. Growth in Mobile Data has been robust as it witnessed an increase in the revenue on a YoY basis by 91.5% in India and 65.8% in Africa.

Revenues from the mobile segment in India grew over improved ARPU which moved up to Rs 200 in Q1FY14 - an increase of Rs 16 on a YoY basis. The voice rate increased from 35.68p last year to 36.39p this year, coupled with higher usage per customer which is up from 433 minutes last year to 455 for this quarter.

The telecom operator reported a forex and derivative loss at Rs 534 crore, mainly caused by rupee depreciation, compared to gains of Rs 160 crore in the same period last year. Consolidated tax charges increased to Rs 968 crore from Rs 454 crore last year, mainly increasing in Africa.

The net debt of Bharti Airtel was USD 9.8 billion as on June 2013. "Consequent to the additional equity infusion of Rs 6,796 crore by Qatar Foundation Endowment and after considering the full debt in the Qualcomm subsidiaries, the consolidated net debt has decreased by USD 908 million during the quarter to close at USD 9,779 million. The net debt to EBITDA ratio (USD terms) now stands at 2.21 as compared to 2.50 at the end of the previous quarter", the telecom operator said.

In a statement, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel, said, "Our results for the quarter reflect the overall stability of our operations, and demonstrate the potential for growth, particularly seeing robust data growth across all geographies. Results for Airtel India reflect rationality returning to the sector which needs to be complemented by a more enabling regulatory environment for a deeper penetration of telecom and broadband services".

The results have induced positive vibes in to the counter as it currently trades at Rs 339, witnessing gains of 5.43% on the BSE.