Airtel's premiumisation push comes at a cost as net subscriber additions fall 78%
The Economic Times · ET Online ·
Bharti Airtel's net mobile subscriber additions plunged 78% sequentially to 7.2 lakh in the September quarter after it discontinued its Rs 299 prepaid smartphone plan, pushing churn higher. However, stronger ARPU growth to Rs 271 helped offset slower additions, supporting revenue and operating profit growth.
The company added just 7.2 lakh net mobile subscribers in the second quarter of FY27, down from 32.7 lakh in the June quarter, according to a research report by Citi. The withdrawal of the Rs 299 plan in August pushed mobile churn to 2.9% from 2.6% in the preceding quarter, the brokerage said.
The subscriber slowdown, however, did not translate into weaker financial performance. Higher revenue per user helped offset the impact of lower additions, with Airtel's India mobile revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growing 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively, on a sequential basis. Both figures were 1% ahead of Citi's estimates.
Citi attributed the sharp moderation in net additions to Airtel's decision to rationalise its prepaid portfolio by discontinuing the Rs 299 entry-level smartphone plan in August.
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