INTO THE HEADWIND 9

Sunil Mittal Chairman, Bharti Airtel

` 30.1 crore (2016/17) `27.85 crore (2015/16) FOR THE SECOND YEAR running, Sunil Bharti Mittal, 60, has retained the ninth position in our roster of India’s highest paid promoter CEOs. The Chairperson of Bharti Airtel pocketed ` 30.1 crore in 2016/17, an 8 per cent increase over 2015/16.

It has been tough going for Mittal since Mukesh Ambaniowned Reliance Jio launched 4G mobile services in September 2016. Jio queered the pitch by offering services – both voice and data – free for the first few months. Even as Mittal battled adversity, his salary rose to ` 26.98 crore in 2016/17 (up from

` 24.62 crore in the previous fiscal) while perquisites remained unchanged at ` 1 crore.

Airtel posted a net profit of ` 79.2 crore in 2017/18 from a loss of ` 9,925.6 crore in the previous fiscal while its total revenue was down 13.7 per cent to ` 53,898.6 crore. Still, Mittal has the first mover advantage. Airtel’s revenue market share, at 32 per cent, is well ahead of others.

The coming year will be the litmus test for Mittal.