Bharti Airtel reported revenues for the fiscal first quarter to June up 14 percent from a year earlier to INR 193.50 billion. EBITDA rose a slower 3 percent to INR 58.49 billion, as growth in Africa was offset by lower results in India and south Asia. Net profit declined 37 percent from a year earlier to INR 7.62 billion. Airtel reduced capex 18 percent to INR 35.76 billion on slower spending in Africa, while operating cash flow rose 67 percent to INR 22.73 billion.
The mobile customer base rose 3 percent sequentially in India and South Asia to 194.18 million, and the African mobile customer base was up 5 percent in the three months to 55.86 million. TV subscribers grew 2 percent to 7.40 million, while the fixed-line base at the Telemedia division was stable at 3.27 million. Bharti Airtel also announced that it's considering a public share offering for Bharti Infratel, its network infrastructure venture.
Bharti Airtel said annual service revenue growth reached 9 percent in India, with growth held back by regulatory limits on pricing bundles and an increase in service tax from April. Mobile ARPU in India and south Asia fell to INR 185 from INR 189 in the previous quarter and INR 190 a year earlier. Voice traffic rose 4 percent on a quarterly basis to 239.34 billion minutes, but average use per customer was unchanged at 433 minutes. Non-voice revenue increased to 16.3 percent of mobile revenues, led by a growing number of data users, which numbered 38.66 million at the end of June. The 3G network reached over 18,000 sites in the quarter.
In Africa, revenues were up 17 percent in local currency. ARPU fell to USD 6.5, from USD 6.8 in the previous quarter and USD 7.3 a year ago. Voice traffic was up 20 percent year-on-year and 3 percent sequentially to 19.65 billion minutes, while MOU was little changed at 120. Non-voice services accounted for 12.9 percent of revenue, with 3G services now launched in seven countries and mobile money services in 12 countries.
