Bharti Airtel Q4 Profit Soars 503% to ₹12,476 Cr on One-Time Tax Gain; Revenue Up 28%

Bharti Airtel, the second-largest player in the telecom market, has disclosed its earnings for the quarter ending March 2025. The company recorded a decent double-digit growth in revenue with a massive jump in profits during the quarter. Despite this, the share price of the company remained almost flat. Let’s understand why.

Key highlights:

• Bharti Airtel reported a 27.6% YoY increase in revenue in Q4 FY25 to ₹48,362 crore, up from ₹37,916 crore in Q4 FY24.
• Net profit surged 503.2% YoY to ₹12,476 crore, driven largely by a one-time tax benefit.
• Airtel generated 80% of its revenue from mobile services across India and Africa. The India mobile services segment contributed ₹26,617 crore, while Africa contributed ₹11,376 crore in Q4 FY25.
• Airtel's ARPU stood at ₹245, higher than Reliance Jio’s ₹206, highlighting better revenue efficiency.
• In terms of subscriber growth, Airtel added 4.5 million new users, closely trailing Jio’s 4.6 million additions.
• Reliance Jio leads market share at 40.6%, while Airtel holds 33.7% share.

Bharti Airtel’s revenue surges 28% in Q4

Bharti Airtel reported 27.6% YoY growth in revenue to ₹48,362 crore during Q4 FY25 as compared to ₹37,916 crore booked in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Surprisingly, its profits for the quarter shot up 503.2% to ₹12,476 crore during the quarter, in comparison to ₹2,068 crore earned a year ago. However, ₹11,022 crore out of the total profits in Q4 was due to a one-time tax benefit and other exceptional items. The EBITDA of the company shows a better picture, which grew 39.9% YoY to ₹27,404 crore during the quarter with an EBITDA margin of 57.2%.

Source: Company filings

Total expenses of the company went up 14.4% to ₹20,867 crore during the quarter. Bharti Airtel spent 43.6% of the total expenditure on network operating expenses, which grew 19.8% during the quarter to ₹9,106 crore. Other major expenses of the company include spectrum charges, employee benefits, and access charges amounting to ₹3,637 crore, ₹1,831 crore, and ₹1,478 crore, respectively.

Coming to the annual performance of the company, it managed to grow the total revenue by 15.3% to ₹1,74,559 crore in FY25 in contrast to ₹1,51,418 crore reported in FY24. The annual profits of Airtel also spiked 338% to ₹37,481 crore during the year. These profits also consist of one-time tax benefits earned in Q4.

Source: Company filings

Following the Q4 results, Bharti Airtel's share price surged around 1.3% in the morning session today, but later, it closed flat at ₹1,837.90 with a market cap of ₹10,99,549 crore. While its closest rival, Reliance share, also remained flat at ₹1,425.20 per share with a market cap of ₹19,26,884 crore. Another major player in the space, Vodafone Idea Ltd, is trading at ₹6.99 with a market cap of ₹75,623 crore, as of May 14, 2025.

How does Bharti Airtel make money?

The company primarily drives revenue through mobile services (prepaid and postpaid plans). It made nearly 80% of its revenue from these services in India and Africa.

Airtel also generates a significant amount of revenue via rental income by leasing tower space to mobile operators through Indus Tower, one of the largest telecom tower companies in India. This vertical made up 16.2% of the total revenue and stood at ₹7,763 crore during the quarter. Further, the remaining revenue for the company came from segments including Airtel Business, Homes Services, Digital TV Services, and more.

Source: Company filings

Airtel is ahead of Jio in ARPU, while Jio leads the market share

Revenue Efficiency (ARPU): Bharti Airtel is leading in terms of average revenue per user (ARPU) of ₹245, compared to Jio’s ₹206.

Subscriber Base: Reliance Jio continues to dominate in terms of scale with 470 million subscribers, ahead of Airtel’s 390 million.

Net Additions:

• Jio added 4.6 million subscribers
• Airtel closely followed with 4.5 million

Market Share: Reliance Jio holds the largest share at 40.6%, driven by its massive network and growing 5G presence, while Bharti Airtel holds a 33.7% share.

Source: TRAI

Summary

Bharti Airtel reported a strong performance in Q4 FY25, with revenue rising 27.6% YoY to ₹48,362 crore and net profit surging 503.2% to ₹12,476 crore. However, the profits were largely driven by a one-time tax gain and other exceptional items of ₹11,022 crore. For the full year, Airtel’s revenue grew 15.3% to ₹1,74,559 crore and profit jumped 338% to ₹37,481 crore, again boosted by Q4 tax benefits. For the company, mobile services remained the primary revenue stream, contributing nearly 80% of earnings across India and Africa. In comparison with Jio, Airtel led in ARPU at ₹245 versus Jio’s ₹206, though Jio maintained a larger subscriber base and a higher market share. While Jio leads in volume, Airtel has a higher ARPU and net subscriber additions during the last quarter. Jio’s larger base gives it scale advantages, but it will need to improve monetization to catch up in revenue efficiency.

Disclaimer

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. The securities are quoted as an example and not as a recommendation.This is nowhere to be considered as an advice, recommendation or solicitation of offer to buy or sell or subscribe for securities. INDStocks SIP / Mini Save is a SIP feature that enables Customer(s) to save a fixed amount on a daily basis to invest in Indian Stock. INDstocks Private Limited (formerly known as INDmoney Private Limited) 616, Level 6, Suncity Success Tower, Sector 65, Gurugram, 122005, SEBI Stock Broking Registration No: INZ000305337, Trading and Clearing Member of NSE (90267, M70042) and BSE, BSE StarMF (6779), SEBI Depository Participant Reg. No. IN-DP-690-2022, Depository Participant ID: CDSL 12095500, Research Analyst Registration No. INH000018948 BSE RA Enlistment No. 6428. Refer https://indstocks.com/pricing?type=indian-stocks; https://www.indstocks.com/page/indian-stocks-sip-terms-and-condition for further details.