Bharti Airtel plans to reach its 300 average revenue per user (ARPU) target in five years. It expects the next tariff hike, which is expected this year, to push the company’s APRU above the 200 mark. Airtel has released its financial results for the fiscal quarter and year ending March 2022.
It’s South Asia MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said “My own sense is that we should start seeing some tariff increases during the course of this year. I do believe that the tariffs at that level are still very low. The first port of call is to get to ₹200 which will require at least one round of tariff increase,” reported PTI.
Airtel reported a consolidated net profit of 2,007.8 crores in Q4 of FY22, up 164.46 percent from 759.2 crores in the same quarter last year. It outperformed analysts’ expectations. Its consolidated revenue from operations increased by 22% to 31,500 crores in Q4FY22. It was also high compared to 25,747 crores in the same period last year. The expansion was fueled by strong and consistent performance across the portfolio. Airtel’s ARPU increased to 178 in Q4FY22, up from 145 in the previous quarter and 163 in the previous quarter.
Raise by all telecom operators
For the past two years, major telecom companies have raised mobile call and data prices. According to the report, three private players, Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, raised mobile plan prices by 18-25 percent between November and December 2021.
According to Vittal, the company was able to gain 4G customers despite a shortage of electronic chips. It was caused smartphone prices to rise. The number of postpaid customers has surpassed 20 million. Vittal also stated that the chip shortage increased the price of entry-level smartphones from 7,000 to around 10,000, preventing mobile phone upgrades.
When asked about Airtel’s vision for the next five years, Vittal stated that the company’s non-mobility business, including B2B and broadband, should become significant by that time. He continued, “ARPUs for mobility should be around $300. In fact, it is expected to be around that level within the next five years.”
Airtel’s mobile customer base in India increased by only 1.5 percent in Q4FY22. It reached to 32.6 crore from 32.1 crore in the previous quarter.
