Bharti Airtel Ltd Q3 FY24 Earnings Conference Call Insights

Key highlights from Bharti Airtel Ltd (BHARTIARTL) Q3 FY24 Earnings Concall

• Financial Performance
  • Revenue impacted by currency devaluations in Africa.
  • India revenue grew steadily at 3% sequentially to over INR 27,800 crores.
  • EBITDA margin remained healthy at 53.9%.
  • Generated operating cash flows of INR 7,250 crores in India.
• Segment Performance
  • Strong mobile subscriber additions of 7.4 million 4G customers.
  • ARPU increased by INR 5 to INR 208 on upgrades and share of wallet.
  • Moderation in home broadband net adds due to discontinued entry level plans.
  • DTH saw highest net adds in 12 quarters at 388,000.
• Strategy Update
  • Portfolio diversification with 27% Africa, 57% India mobility revenue.
  • Consistent customer wins through focus on high value B2C and B2B users.
  • Leveraging digital capabilities for sales, marketing and understanding customers.
  • Investments in fiber, systems integration and emerging segments.
  • Massive rollout of 30,000 sites performed well on key metrics.
  • Gaps remain in 5 key circles representing 18% subscriber share.
  • Will increase coverage in these circles to build customer tailwind.
• Digital Capability Monetization
  • Can extend digital experience platforms to other telcos globally.
  • Portfolio of digital services like Airtel IQ and Airtel Finance.
  • Capturing IoT opportunity across connectivity, cloud, analytics.
• Capital Allocation
  • Delivered consistent quarter with strong cash generation.
  • Prudent capital allocation improving ROCE without tariff hikes.
  • Investing to build future-ready capabilities across focus areas.
  • Strong cash conversion driven by operating leverage improvements.
  • Priority use of cash flow remains debt reduction for now.
• Capex and Cash Flow Outlook
  • Elevated capex of INR25,000 crores in FY2025 with 5G and rural rollout.
  • Expects capex to moderate in FY2026.
  • Long-term target is 15-20% capex to revenue ratio.
  • Continued deleveraging expected with operating leverage benefits.
  • Headroom for growth in broadband, B2B and mobility.
  • Margin expansion to drive improved net debt to EBITDA over time.
  • First priority is debt reduction for both India and Africa.
  • Targeting sub-2x net debt/EBITDA for India.
• Network Expansion Plans
  • Currently over 300,000 sites nationwide.
  • Looking to add 25,000 more sites in 5 key underpenetrated circles.
  • Expects to bridge gap prudently based on cluster level profitability.
• 2G/5G Network Outlook
  • 2G now contributes 17% of overall business revenue.
  • Contribution higher in rural states but reducing steadily.
  • Expects substantial disappearance of 2G over next few years.
  • Currently 65 million 5G subscribers, about 15-16% of total.
  • Expect 25% 5G share of smartphones by March 2025.
  • 60-80% of new devices shipping are 5G capable.
• 5G Migration Approach
  • To shift progressively from NSA to SA architecture over time.
  • As more traffic shifts to 5G, will refarm 4G spectrum to 5G.
  • Following customer traffic patterns to drive migration path.