The quarter ended December 2023 was a financially healthy one for Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, while Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) narrowed down its net losses. All three telecom operators continued to post positive growth in revenue. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for both Jio and Airtel remained above the Rs 100 billion mark during the quarter.

In terms of operational metrics, Airtel had the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) at Rs 208. Meanwhile, Jio continued to outpace competition in terms of subscriber base as 5G roll-outs accelerated the subscriber addition momentum with a net addition of 38 million subscribers, bringing the total base to 470.9 million customers. Vi reported the highest pre-IndAS116 EBITDA in the past 11 years. It remained engaged with various parties for fund raising to make the required investments for network expansion, including 5G roll-out.

A look at the financial and operational results of telecom operators during the quarter ended December 2023…

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio continued its robust financial performance, with its parent company, Jio Platforms Limited reporting a net profit of Rs 54.45 billion during the quarter ended December 2023, up from Rs 48.81 billion during the quarter ended December 2022. The operator’s gross revenue increased from Rs 230.61 billion to Rs 255.13 billion while revenue from operations grew from Rs 229.98 billion to Rs 253.68 billion during the same period. Meanwhile, the telco’s EBITDA increased from Rs 125.19 billion to Rs 139.55 billion. The EBITDA margin increased from 50.3 per cent to 50.4 per cent.

Operationally, the telco’s net subscriber addition increased to 38 million year on year, driven by its 5G network expansion. The total customer base as on December 31, 2023 stood at 470.9 million. ARPU improved to Rs 181.7, an increase of 1.96 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The increase in ARPU was driven by a better subscriber mix; however, it was partially offset by unlimited data allowance on the 5G network. Engagement on the Jio network remained strong. The total data traffic on the network increased 31.5 per cent to 38.1 billion GB while voice traffic increased 7.9 per cent to 1.37 trillion minutes.

In terms of 5G roll-out, Jio has introduced its True 5G network across India ahead of schedule. About 90 million subscribers have been migrated to its 5G network. As of December 2023, the operator’s 5G network carries almost one-fourth of its mobility data traffic and the entire 5G data is now carried on Jio’s own 5G+4G combo core.

Furthermore, JioAirFiber is available in over 4,000 cities/towns, with pan-Indian coverage expected in the first half of 2024. Content bundling is driving a nearly 30 per cent higher per capita usage on JioAirFiber as compared to JioFiber.

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel’s consolidated revenue stood at Rs 379 billion during the quarter ended December 2023, up 5.9 per cent year on year. Consolidated EBITDA grew from Rs 186.01 billion during the quarter ended December 2022 to Rs 200.44 billion during the quarter ended December 2023. The EBITDA margin increased marginally from 52 per cent to 52.9 per cent during the same period.

For the India business, Airtel reported an increase in quarterly revenues, from Rs 249.62 billion to Rs 278.11 billion. In addition, the India business reported an EBITDA of Rs 150 billion as compared to Rs 131.67 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. The capex spending on Airtel’s India business stood at Rs 77.56 billion.

On the operational front, Airtel’s ARPU for the quarter stood at Rs 208 as compared to Rs 193 in the quarter ended December 2022, driven by a consistent strategy of acquiring high-value customers and improved realisations. Airtel’s subscriber base increased from nearly 369 million to 397 million. The operator continued to hold a strong market share of 4G/5G customers and added 28.2 million subscribers to its network over the previous year, an increase of 13 per cent year on year. The average data usage per customer grew to 22 GB per month.

Airtel rolled out an additional 12,300 towers during the quarter to further strengthen its network coverage and provide seamless connectivity. During 2023, the telco deployed nearly 45,000 towers. Its fibre-to-the-home business maintained a sharp growth trajectory, growing 23 per cent year on year. Its focus on digitalisation and acquiring high-value customers led to 359,000 broadband customer additions during the quarter, resulting in a total base of 7.3 million.

Airtel Business maintained an organic revenue growth of 8.7 per cent year on year by leveraging the converged portfolio of Airtel and harvesting the rapidly increasing demand for data and core connectivity-related solutions. During the quarter, it entered into strategic partnerships with IntelliSmart and Adani Energy Solutions Limited to power up to 20 million smart meters for each company
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Vodafone Idea Limited

Vi’s revenue for the quarter ended December 2023 increased by 0.5 per cent year on year to Rs 106.7 billion, aided by an improving subscriber mix, 4G subscriber additions and a change in entry-level plans. The telco’s net loss narrowed down from Rs 79.88 billion during the quarter ended December 2022 to Rs 69.89 billion during the quarter ended December 2023.

EBITDA for the quarter grew by 4.1 per cent year on year, from Rs 41.8 billion to Rs 43.5 billion. The EBITDA margin during the quarter was 40.8 per cent. EBITDA, excluding the IndAS116 impact, grew to

Rs 21.4 billion compared to Rs 20 billion, up 6.8 per cent year on year. This is the highest pre-IndAS116 EBITDA in the past 11 quarters.

The telco’s total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) stood at Rs 2,149.6 billion and comprised deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,382.4 billion, adjusted gross revenue liability of Rs 690.2 billion that is due to the government, debt from banks and financial institutions of

Rs 60.5 billion, and optionally convertible debentures amounting to Rs 16.6 billion. The net debt during the quarter was Rs 2,146.4 billion. Debt from banks and financial institutions reduced by Rs 71.4 billion since December 2022.

In operational terms, Vi’s 4G subscriber base continued to grow for the tenth successive quarter, and stood at 125.6 million, recording an addition of 4.1 million customers since last year. Its overall subscriber base stood at 215.2 million. The telco’s ARPU improved to Rs 145, up 7.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis, primarily led by change in entry-level plans and subscriber upgrades. The total data traffic for the quarter grew 4.2 per cent year on year.

The telco’s capital investments during the quarter were focused on its 17 priority circles to expand broadband network coverage and capacity by rolling out new 4G sites at the existing locations, upgrading the core and transmission network and refarming 2G/3G spectrum to 4G. Its overall broadband site count stood at nearly 438,900 as of December 31, 2023 and during the quarter, it added around 1,400 4G sites. The telco completely shut down 3G services across five circles – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Kolkata. Till date, the operator has deployed 74,800 time division duplexing sites, 13,900 massive multiple input, multiple output sites, and 13,000 small cells. Further, Vi continued to expand its LTE presence in 14 circles at multiple locations to improve the customer experience.

With regard to 5G, Vi is in discussions with various technology partners for finalising its roll-out strategy, developing 5G use cases relevant to the Indian market, and building device ecosystems.

Sarah Khan