NEW DELHI: India’s second largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel saw its Q1 profit soar 37.3% to Rs Rs 8,167.4 crore this Q1, from Rs 5,947.4 crore in same period last fiscal thanks to higher mobile tariffs, strong customer additions and growth across its India and Africa businesses. Revenue in the same period rose 18.4% to Rs 58,539 crore this Q1 from Rs 49,462.6 crore in April-June 2025. Bharti Airtel share price closed 0.3% up at Rs 1,956.5 on BSE Tuesday when the broader market was down by 0.3%.Airtels’ average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 264 during the quarter from Rs 250 a year ago. “We delivered yet another quarter of strong performance, supported by the resilience of our diversified portfolio and sharp execution across businesses,” executive VC and MD Gopal Vittal said in a statement. He added that India revenue grew 4.2% sequentially, while the Africa business posted 5.7% constant currency growth over the previous quarter.The company has this Q1 completed a share swap transaction that increased its stake in Airtel Africa to more than 79%, a move Vittal described as “a strong reflection of our conviction in Africa’s long-term growth potential.”The India mobile business saw revenue grow 9.2% due to premiumisation. Smartphone data customers increased by 2.1 crore YoY and 50 lakh QoQ, now accounting for 80% of the mobile customer base. Airtel says it recorded its highest-ever quarterly postpaid customer additions, with 10 lakh net adds. Mobile data consumption grew 36% YoY to 34.4 GB per customer per month.Gopal Vittal said: “India Mobile achieved sequential growth of 3.8%, driven by continued portfolio mix improvement.Our postpaid strategy continues to deliver strong outcomes with highest ever customer additions of 10 lakh. We added 50 lakh smartphone customers with an industry leading ARPU of Rs 264. The homes business saw strong momentum with revenue growth of 4.4% QoQ and 4.7 lakh customer additions, underpinned by our focus on quality acquisitions and driving convergence. Airtel Business also delivered 3.2% sequential revenue growth, led by strong performance across the portfolio. Our balance sheet remains strong, reflecting disciplined capital allocation and focused investments to future-proof Airtel.”
