Indian telco Bharti Airtel has posted a 23.7% hike in quarterly profits as user numbers surged in one of the world’s fastest growing telecoms markets. Airtel (formerly Tele-Ventures) is the holding company for domestic group Bharti Enterprise’s telecoms interests, and offers a full range of services. The operator said consolidated net profit rose to INR9.34 billion (USD206 million) for its fiscal first quarter ended 30 September, up from INR7.55 billion a year earlier, on the back of a 13% quarter-on-quarter rise in revenues to INR43.57 billion. Mobile revenues amounted to INR33.02 billion, up 73% year-on-year, whilst broadband and fixed telephony turnover was up 43% to INR5.24 billion. Group EBITDA was INR17.03 billion.
Airtel, 30.84% owned by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), said its mobile subscriber base reached 27.06 million at the end of September. Its broadband customers totalled 473,000, making up more than a quarter of its fixed line base.