Airtel hits record 40% market share, eyes more "tariff repairs"
's revenue market share touched a record high of nearly 40% in 2024-25, increasing 1.78 percentage points year-on-year for its mobile services business, even as its vice chairman Gopal Vittal called for further 'tariff repair' for a sustainable return on capital employed.
The strong revenue growth of the country's second-largest telecom operator was supported by an improved portfolio mix, continued premiumisation and tariff repair across its mobile pricing plans, the company said in its annual report released on Thursday.
During the financial year, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal drew an annual remuneration of Rs 32.55 crore, an increase of 0.89% year-on-year. Vittal, also the managing director, drew an annual salary of Rs 20.2 crore, a 9.14% increase over the previous year.
The company paid Rs 37,300 crore in licence fee and spectrum usage charges to the state exchequer in 2024-25. It additionally paid Rs 28,900 towards spectrum obligations, including annual and prepayment of past spectrum dues.
'Over the past five years, Airtel's contribution to the Exchequer is nearly Rs 2.5 trillion, reflecting our commitment to national development,' Mittal said in the annual report.
Bharti Airtel's revenue increased 17.9% year-on-year to Rs 1.25 lakh crore, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 57,909 crore, resulting in its highest revenue market share yet.
'In mobility, we delivered a record-high revenue market share of ~40 percent and added over 9.3 million new customers in FY 2024-25,' Vittal said in the report.
The telco added 24 million net 4G and 5G customers in 2024-25 even as its average revenue per user, a key performance metric, increased by Rs 36 to Rs 245 during the period.
'Our focus remains on growing our postpaid base, driving smartphone upgrades and expanding international roaming penetration,' Vittal said.
He said that while the much-awaited tariff repair took place in July 2024, there was need for further repair to ensure sustainable improvement in return on capital employed.
Chairman Mittal said Bharti Airtel's coverage across the country expanded during the fiscal with the deployment of more than 20,000 network sites and over 44,000 kilometres of fibre.
'I am also pleased to share that your company is fully ready to transition to a standalone 5G network. This will happen when 5G becomes the mainstay wireless technology, while we continue to conduct pilot testing,' Mittal said.
Bharti Airtel closed 2024-25 with more than 135 million 5G users, compared to 72 million in the previous year, reflecting rapid adoption and network expansion, the company said.
The telco offers 5G services through a non-standalone architecture, which it said was a calculated decision resulting in significant savings in capex and network operating expenses. "This has enabled Airtel to deliver 5G services at the lowest TCO (total cost of ownership)," Mittal said.
The company's Africa business faced macroeconomic headwinds but delivered a resilient performance in 2024-25. 'The business continued its steady growth momentum, recording underlying constant currency revenue growth of 21% and EBITDA growth of 18%,' Mittal said. 'Airtel Africa's balance sheet remains healthy, with comfortable leverage. The majority of debt is now denominated in local currencies, effectively mitigating exposure to forex volatility.'
The company's broadband business also gained momentum in India, adding 2.4 million new broadband customers, driven by its launch of fixed wireless services in more than 2,500 cities.
Bharti Airtel also achieved record high market share in the direct to home (DTH) segment, despite industry headwinds.
'We are making structural changes to our DTH business by eliminating subsidies, which will benefit cash flow,' Vittal said.
The company's business-to-business segment, however, saw slow overall growth due to its deliberate shift away from low-margin, commodity business, he said.
Bharti Airtel had 13,593 permanent employees and 71,861 non-permanent workers at the end of 2024-25.
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