Bharti Airtel's net profit fell 27.8% in the June quarter, continuing what is now a six-quarter streak of profit declines. But revenue grew 38.6%.
The Indian operator recorded a profit of $272 million, with earnings hit by fees associated with its African acquisitions and 3G investments in India. Profit has now fallen for six straight quarters, Economic Timessaid.
The bottom line fell even as revenue swelled to $3.79 billion, on the strength of a 25% year-on-year growth in mobile subscribers to 221.2 million.
While Airtel Africa improved revenue 6% sequentially to $979 million and added 2.1 million new customers, the segment is still generating a loss for the parent.
Bharti Airtel also struggled with shrinking margins in its core India and South Asian markets – ARPU fell 12% year-on-year, when measured in rupees. But CEO Sunil Mittal said “efforts in the area of cost efficiencies have helped arrest this margin decline.”
The company also recently revealed plans to increase its tariffs by up to 25% in some regions of India.