Bharti Airtel: Consolidation gains key trigger

Improving profitability in Africa, Tata Tele integration benefits and tower asset sale add to positive outlook

Despite a 39 per cent gain for the Bharti Airtel stock in two months, analysts believe it has more legs to run after the integration with Tata Teleservices, revival in Africa and cost control measures. 

The latest trigger has been ongoing consolidation in the industry, the latest being Reliance Communications’ (RCom’s) exit from consumer mobile telephony. The sector had 13 players in 2010 and is expected to be left with four over the next year and a half.

Analysts believe Bharti is positioned to grab market share as smaller operators shut down. This includes the 70 million customers of RCom,