Bharti Airtel reported a loss of ₹15,191.2 crore in the June quarter. The widening of losses was due to exceptional items of ₹11,745.7 crore, which includes incremental provision and interest on licence fee and spectrum usage charges and net charge pertaining to re-assessment of levies.
It, however, registered a healthy revenue growth of 15 per cent y-o-y at ₹23,939 crore (1 per cent q-o-q) driven by tariff hikes taken in December last year.
Its operating margin expanded largely on account of tariff hikes and cost control measures.
Also, with the Covid-19 outbreak, there’s increased demand for telecommunication and internet services. The company’s data usage increased to 39 per cent y-o-y in the recent June quarter (11 per cent q-o-q).
Content partnership with platforms such as Netflix and Hotstar, too, helped.
However debt (at ₹1,16,541 crore) remains a cause for concern.