Bharti Airtel’s consolidated net profit for the March 2026 quarter saw a significant 33.5 per cent decline to Rs 7,325 crore, primarily impacted by substantial one-time provisions related to statutory and tax liabilities, despite achieving a record annual revenue exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore.
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
Key Points
- Bharti Airtel’s consolidated net profit for Q4 FY26 fell by 33.5 per cent to Rs 7,325 crore, largely due to one-time provisions for regulatory and tax liabilities.
- The company’s annual revenue for FY26 surpassed Rs 2 lakh crore for the first time, driven by customer growth and an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) in India.
- Airtel recognised a charge of Rs 31,607 million for regulatory and government levies during the quarter.
- Consolidated revenue from operations surged 15.6 per cent to Rs 55,383.2 crore in Q4 FY26, with significant growth from the Africa business.
- Airtel’s India mobile revenue increased by 8.3 per cent year-on-year, supported by a growing customer base and ARPU of Rs 257.
Bharti Airtel posted a 33.5 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 7,325 crore for the March 2026 quarter, mainly due to one-time provisions related to statutory and tax liabilities, according to the company filing.
The company’s annual revenue for the first time crossed Rs 2 lakh crore, driven by 3.2 per cent customer growth to 66.5 crore, coupled with an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) in India.
Impact of One-Time Provisions
Airtel had posted a profit after tax of Rs 12,476 crore in the March 2025 quarter due to a one-time gain in the period.
“During the quarter ended March 31, 2026, based on re-assessment and updated demands received, the group has recognised a charge of Rs 31,607 million on account of regulatory and government levies and corresponding deferred tax asset of Rs 1,402 million on certain items,” the company filing said.
According to the filing, Airtel has reversed deferred tax liabilities amounting to Rs 3,095.2 crore, which is no longer a difference between the group’s carrying value of its investment and tax base.
The company, however, posted a 38.7 per cent growth in net income to Rs 7,245 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 5,223 crore a year ago.
Bharti Airtel’s consolidated profit, attributed to the owners of the parent, was Rs 11,021.8 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenue Growth and Customer Milestones
The consolidated revenue from operations of Bharti Airtel surged 15.6 per cent to Rs 55,383.2 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 47,876.2 crore a year ago, with growth accelerated by a 40 per cent jump in the Africa business.
The company in the March 2026 quarter crossed a milestone of 65 crore customers and consolidated its position as the second largest telco globally by customer base – India’s first telco to achieve the landmark.
The India business of Bharti Airtel grew by 8 per cent during the reported quarter to Rs 39,565.6 crore from Rs 36734.5 crore in the March 2025 quarter.
The company’s mobile services segment in India contributed Rs 28,831 crore to the total revenue, with growth of about 8 per cent during the reported quarter.
The growth was driven by an increase in customer base, along with about 5 per cent growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 257 from Rs 245.
“India Mobile revenue increased by 8.3 per cent YoY, driven by higher realisations and an expanding customer base. The company achieved strong ARPU growth,” the company said.
Strategic Growth and Future Outlook
Airtel said that its leadership strengthened in the postpaid segment with a sustained net addition of 8 lakh customers, taking its total customer base in the segment to 2.9 crore.
The number of smartphone data customers on the Airtel network in India increased by 2 crore over the past year, representing a 7.2 per cent YoY growth.
Average data usage per customer on the Airtel India network increased by 5.6 per cent to 31.4 GB from 25.1 GB.
In FY26, Bharti Airtel’s revenue rose by about 22 per cent to Rs 2.1 lakh crore from Rs 1.73 lakh crore in FY25.
“We ended FY26 on a strong note, demonstrating the power of our diversified portfolio.
“FY26 was an important year in our journey as we crossed the 650 million customer mark, launched our telco-grade sovereign cloud, received RBI approval through our subsidiary to commence the lending business, and accelerated the expansion of our data centre footprint, its Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said.
Bharti Airtel’s total capex during the reported quarter increased by 11.5 per cent to Rs 16,066 crore, including Rs 13,488 crore spent in India from Rs 14,400 crore on a YoY basis.
For the full fiscal year 2026, the capex declined by about 3 per cent to Rs 47,522 crore from Rs 48,927 crore.
Bharti Airtel’s consolidated net debt dropped to Rs 1.65 lakh crore at the end of FY26 from over Rs 2 lakh crore in the year-ago period.
