REMOTE WORK GIVES AIRTEL’S DATA USAGE A 58% BOOST

NEW DELHI: A boom in remote work propelled a 58% year-onyear jump in data consumption at Bharti Airtel Ltd in the September quarter helping India’s second-largest telco post record consolidated revenues though it plunged to a net loss for the sixth straight quarter.

“Our focus on building the most aspirational brand in Indian telecom to win quality customers is delivering results. Our data consumption grew by 58% y-o-y which reflects strong engagement of customers on our network,” Airtel’s chief executive Gopal Vittal said on Tuesday.

During the quarter, Airtel recorded a sequential growth of 14.4 million in 4G user base at 152.7 million, up 48% from a year ago, as more customers turned to better data services.

Airtel’s average revenue per user (Arpu) rose to ₹162 from ₹128 from a year ago, and ₹157 in the June quarter.

As a result it clocked its highest consolidated quarterly revenue of ₹25,785 crore, up 22% from a year ago. It, however, posted a consolidated net loss of ₹763 crore due to higher expenses, including network operating costs, licence fees and spectrum usage charges, and higher finance cost.

The company had a consolidated net loss of ₹23,045 crore in Q2 of FY20. A Bloomberg poll of 10 analysts had estimated a profit of ₹121.60 crore for the September quarter.

Airtel’s consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose to ₹11,848 crore from ₹8,936 crore a year ago.