Jio-led price wars halve Bharti Airtel Q3 profit to Rs 504 crore

Net down 55% y-o-y, the biggest decline in 16 quarters; revenue down 3%

Bogged by competitive pressures brought on by low tariffs of Reliance Jio (RJio) and disruption due to demonetisation, Bharti Airtel’s December quarter (Q3) numbers were below Street estimates. Pricing pressure in India coupled with Nigerian currency devaluation saw consolidated revenues fall three per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 23,336 crore, compared to Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs 23,897 crore.

Adjusted for divested Africa units, the sale of tower assets and Bangladesh merger, revenue performance was flat. According to Bloomberg, this was the worst-ever revenue growth performance for the company. Operating profit at Rs 8,570 crore was up just 1.1 per