Whalesbook
Bharti Airtel ke latest results dekhne mein thoda milaa-jula sa performance hai. Ek taraf India aur Africa mein core business ekdum faad performance de raha hai, wahi dusri taraf purane services waale areas mein thodi kami dikh rahi hai.
Company ka Q4 FY26 revenue 15.7% badh kar lagbhag ₹55,383 crore ho gaya. India mein mobile revenue 8.3% upa rha users aur smartphone adoption ki wajah se. Aur toh aur, Home Services ne toh kamaal hi kar diya, revenue aur EBITDA dono 37.3% aur 38.2% badhe hain, broadband ekdum mast chal raha hai. Airtel Business bhi steady chal raha hai. Lekin, jo Digital TV wala segment hai na, woh 2.3% revenue aur 14.3% EBITDA se gir gaya hai, kyunki log ab streaming pe zyada shift ho rahe hain. Overall consolidated EBITDA 16.6% badh kar ₹314.9 billion ho gaya, haan, margins thode kam hue hain quarter-on-quarter.
Ab sabse main baat – ARPU. Saalon baad pehli baar ARPU ₹257 pe aa gaya, jo pichhle quarter (Q3 FY26) ke ₹259 se thoda kam hai. Yeh thoda chintaa ka vishay hai kyunki company price increase ke bina users se zyada kama kaise payegi. Management ne bola hai ki woh bundled services aur postpaid users badhaane par focus karenge. Yeh sab dekh kar bhi, Prabhudas Lilladher jaise analysts ne apni 'Buy' rating nahi chodi hai, bas target price ko thoda kam karke ₹2,216 kar diya hai (pehla ₹2,266 tha). Valuation mein Airtel Africa, Indus Towers aur Bharti Hexacom sab include hain.
Aur ek positive baat yeh hai ki Airtel Africa ekdum zabardast perform kar raha hai, revenue 29.5% badha hai. Yahan toh EBITDA margins bhi record 49.3% aur 50.3% tak pahunch gaye. Data services 40.3% badhi hain aur mobile money revenue bhi 36.3% upar hai. Africa mein abhi bhi smartphone penetration kam hai, toh yahan growth ka kaafi scope hai, bilkul India ki tarah.
Lekin problems bhi hain. Digital TV ka girta performance aur ARPU ka dip, yeh sab strategical review maangta hai. Competition bhi tight hai, Vodafone Idea bhi network mein invest kar raha hai. Company ne Q4 mein ₹16,066 crore ka heavy capital spending bhi kiya hai network aur digital infrastructure ke liye, jo future ke liye zaruri hai par abhi costs badha raha hai. Overall, company ka market cap ₹11.66 Lakh Cr hai. Aage management ARPU badhane ke liye premium services aur postpaid users pe dhyaan dega, aur 5G rollout toh speed up kar hi rahe hain. Analysts ko abhi bhi Airtel ki strategy pe bharosa hai, aur sector ka outlook bhi positive lag raha hai data use aur 5G ki wajah se. Airtel Africa bhi company ko diversification mein help karega.