Bharti Airtel Ltd on November 5 reported a 31% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 8,888 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, driven by strong revenue growth across its India and Africa businesses, although higher network operating costs weighed on earnings. 

The telecom operator had reported a net profit of Rs 6,792 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenue from operations rose 16.7% year-on-year to Rs 60,878 crore in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 52,145 crore in the year-ago period. Consolidated EBITDA stood at Rs 35,240 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 57.9%.

Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company delivered another quarter of consistent performance, with consolidated revenue increasing 4% sequentially, reflecting the strength of its diversified portfolio.

"Africa delivered a standout quarter with 6.7% QoQ constant currency revenue growth. Africa’s improving performance is also benefiting from the rollout of Airtel’s homegrown technology stack across markets, powering our go-to-market capabilities. Group-wide synergies are also beginning to deliver tangible operating gains," Vittal said.

The India business recorded sequential revenue growth of 2.7%, while the mobile business reported a 3.4% increase, supported by the company's strategy of portfolio premiumisation and acquiring quality customers, he added.

Bharti Airtel's total customer base expanded to 693 million across 15 countries, supported by quarterly net additions of 12 million customers across India and Africa.

In India, mobile revenue increased 10.1% year-on-year, while Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) rose to Rs 271 in Q2FY27 from Rs 256 in the corresponding quarter last year, reflecting improved realisations and customer additions.

The company added 2.9 million smartphone data customers sequentially and 18.8 million over the past year. Smartphone data customers now account for 81% of its total mobile customer base. Mobile data consumption also increased 36.5% year-on-year to 36.5 GB per customer per month.

Airtel's focus on strengthening its portfolio proposition resulted in record postpaid net additions of 1.2 million during the quarter, its strongest performance in a single quarter, taking the total postpaid customer base to 31.2 million. During the quarter, the company strengthened its postpaid offering by adding Apple's expanded iCloud+ services, including Apple TV and Apple Arcade, to provide greater value to customers and encourage upgrades.

The company continued to expand its digital infrastructure, deploying 497 towers and 11,684 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter. Over the past year, its network expansion included the addition of 5,649 towers and 44,718 kilometres of fibre, strengthening network coverage, capacity and resilience.

Airtel's Homes business continued to register strong growth, with revenue rising 25.3% year-on-year, driven by robust demand and deeper market penetration. The company added 676,000 customers during the quarter, taking its total Homes customer base to 15.4 million. Net customer additions in the segment stood at 3.4 million over the past year.

Its Digital TV business reported revenue of Rs 771 crore during the quarter, supported by a customer base of 15.6 million and continued growth in IPTV services.

Airtel Business registered another quarter of double-digit growth, with revenue increasing 11.4% year-on-year, driven by strong momentum across its portfolio.

Africa continued to deliver strong growth, with revenue rising 20.6% year-on-year in constant currency terms. The business reported a customer base of 193.9 million, while reported revenue growth stood at 25.7% year-on-year.