Bharti Airtel Profits Rise 30.8% Amid Subscriber Churn

Bharti Airtel reported a 30.8 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 8,888 crore for the second quarter of FY27, with revenue rising 16.7 percent to Rs 60,878 crore. Growth was driven by strong performance in India and Africa, expanding the total customer base to 693 million. The company also listed Airtel Money Africa on the London Stock Exchange at a valuation of approximately $7 billion and launched a new lending business.

Despite financial gains, the company saw a 78 percent drop in quarterly net mobile subscriber additions during the September quarter, adding 7.2 lakh subscribers compared to 32.7 lakh previously. Citi attributed this decline to the August 2026 discontinuation of a Rs 299 entry-level prepaid plan, which raised churn from 2.6 percent to 2.9 percent. In response, the company restored the Rs 299 plan on Dhanteras, though with reduced data benefits of 1 GB. Average revenue per user rose to Rs 271, and the postpaid segment grew by 12 lakh subscribers.

Beyond mobile services, the company is investing Rs 2,826 crore in land to build 1 GW of data center capacity over the next two years and is exploring GPU-as-a-service and AI stack offerings for enterprises. In the broadband sector, the company is prioritizing fiber over fixed wireless access in high-demand urban areas.