Bharti Airtel reported a 16.7% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to INR608.78 billion (US$6.8 billion) for the second quarter of its 2026-27 financial year, driven by growth in India and Africa.
The Indian operator’s customer base expanded by 12 million during the quarter to 693 million across 15 countries. Consolidated EBITDA reached INR352.4 billion, giving the company an EBITDA margin of 57.9%.
India revenue increased 9.4% year on year to INR423.08 billion, with mobile revenue up 10.1%. Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to INR271, compared with INR256 in the same quarter last year, reflecting higher customer spending and a shift towards more valuable plans.
Airtel added a record 1.2 million postpaid customers during the quarter, taking its total postpaid base to 31.2 million. Its smartphone data customer base grew by 18.8 million over the past year, including 2.9 million additions in the latest quarter.
The operator also continued to expand its network, deploying 497 towers and 11,684 mobile broadband base stations during the quarter. Over the past year, it added 5,649 towers and 44,718 kilometres of fibre.
Homes and enterprise growth
Airtel’s fixed broadband business continued to expand, with revenue rising 25.3% year on year. It added 676,000 customers during the quarter, taking its Homes base to 15.4 million.
Its digital TV business generated revenue of INR7.71 billion, with a customer base of 15.6 million, while enterprise arm Airtel Business recorded 11.4% revenue growth.
Airtel Business also entered a partnership with Indian state-owned telecoms equipment maker ITI Limited to support enterprise digital transformation, including the modernisation of legacy systems, operational efficiency and security.
Africa delivers strong growth
Airtel Africa’s revenue increased 20.6% year on year in constant currency terms, with reported revenue growth of 25.7%. Its customer base reached 193.9 million.
Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal said the African business had also benefited from the rollout of the group’s technology platform across its markets, alongside operational synergies.
The company is also expanding beyond its core connectivity business. Vittal said Airtel had invested in a strategic land parcel during the quarter as part of its ambition to build 1GW of data centre capacity. Its financial services business, which recently began commercial operations, is also showing early signs of traction.
Vittal said the group would continue to focus on cash generation and disciplined capital allocation while maintaining a strong balance sheet.