Bharti Airtel returned to profitability in its fiscal Q3 2021 (ending 31 December), with mobile revenue growth driven by strong uptake of data plans and double-digit ARPU gains in India.

The operator reported net profit of INR8.54 billion ($117.1 million), from a net loss of INR10.35 billion in fiscal Q3 2020, with revenue up 24.2 per cent to INR265.2 billion.

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of India and South Asia, said despite unprecedented volatility, “we delivered another strong performance this quarter. This consistency in performance was across every part of our portfolio, as reflected in market share growth across all our business segments”.

Domestic market
The operator said 4G customers increased 33.8 per cent year-on-year to 165.6 million at end-December, a net addition of 42 million. Its total mobile user base was up 8.8 per cent to 308 million.

Mobile service revenue increased 32.4 per cent to INR147.8 billion. ARPU increased 23 per cent to INR166. Average data usage per customer increased to 16.4GB a month from 13.9GB.

Africa
Revenue from its Africa operations fell 8 per cent to $1.06 billion.

Mobile subscribers increased 11 per cent to 119 million, with ARPU up 9.3 per cent to $2.90. Average data usage rose to 2.65GB a month from 1.97GB.

Revenue from Airtel Money grew 41.1 per cent to $111 million, with the transition value per subscriber up 25.9 per cent to $208. Active users rose 34.9 per cent to 21.5 million.