Shares of Bharti Airtel were trading in the green and 1% higher on 15 May despite the company announcing weak quarterly earnings for January-March. 

In its quarter report, the company reported a 31% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,072 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 3,006 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. 

The revenue of the company for the quarter stood at Rs 37,599 crore, marking a 4.4% YoY increase from last year. 

The company’s India revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 28,513 crore, which increased by 12.9% YoY, and its mobile revenue grew by 12.9% YoY. 

The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 4% YoY to Rs 19,590 crore from Rs 18,807 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. EBITDA margins contracted by 10 basis points to 52.1% during the quarter. 

The board of directors of the company also approved a final dividend of Rs 8 per share for the Fiscal year 2023-24. 

The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter reached Rs 209 from Rs 193 reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Gopal Vittal, MD of Bharti Airtel, said, “We added 7.8 million smartphone customers and delivered an industry leading ARPU of Rs. 209. Our relentless focus on improving customer experience has resulted in 20% churn reduction during the quarter.”

At 11:49 am, the shares of Bharti Airtel were trading 0.44% higher at Rs 1,290 on NSE.