Bharti Airtel Q1 revenue rises 18.4% on strong India and Africa performance

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 05 August 2026; 421 views

Bharti Airtel has reported an 18.4% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue for the first quarter of its 2027 financial year, driven by continued growth across its India and Africa operations, alongside strong momentum in its mobile, home broadband and enterprise businesses.

The operator generated consolidated revenue of INR585.39 billion (US$6.7 billion) for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, while EBITDA increased to INR335.99 billion, representing an EBITDA margin of 57.4%.

Net income before exceptional items rose to INR80.57 billion from INR59.48 billion in the same period last year.

During the quarter, Airtel completed a share swap transaction that increased its stake in Airtel Africa to more than 79%, strengthening its exposure to the African market.

India remained the group's largest contributor, with revenue increasing 9.7% year on year to INR412.14 billion, supported by higher average revenue per user (ARPU), continued smartphone adoption and growth across its home broadband and enterprise businesses.

Mobile revenue in India rose 9.2% as ARPU increased to INR264 from INR250 a year earlier, while the company added one million postpaid subscribers during the quarter - its highest quarterly postpaid customer addition on record.

Smartphone data users increased by 21.1 million over the past year, with smartphone users now accounting for 80% of Airtel's mobile customer base. Average monthly mobile data consumption climbed 36% year on year to 34.4GB per customer.

The operator expanded its network by deploying 1,579 towers and 14,540 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter. Over the past year, it added 7,631 towers and rolled out 45,171km of fibre.

Airtel's home broadband business continued its strong growth trajectory, with revenue increasing 33.2% year on year. The company added 473,000 customers during the quarter, taking its total home broadband customer base to 14.7 million.

Across Africa, Airtel ended the quarter with 189 million customers, with revenue increasing 21.1% year on year in constant currency.

Group-wide, Airtel added 14.9 million customers during the quarter, taking its total customer base across 15 countries to 681 million.

Commenting on the results, Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said the company had delivered another quarter of strong performance driven by its diversified business portfolio and disciplined execution.

He added that increasing Airtel's stake in Airtel Africa reflected the company's confidence in the continent's long-term growth prospects, while its balance sheet remained strong following disciplined capital allocation and continued investment in network expansion.