Airtel trades under pressure as September quarter net profit misses Street expectations; brokerages bullish - Check targets

Bharti Airtel stocks traded under pressure in the early session today as the second quarter results trailed Street expectations, though the revenue numbers came in higher than the market estimate. The company posted an 89 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,145 crore amid higher revenue per user and more data consumption

The stock of the telecom service provider quoted Rs 828 apiece, down marginally by 0.68 per cent on NSE at 10 AM.

The New Delhi -based company's total revenue rose nearly 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 34,527 crore during the just-ended quarter. The company attributed this to 'strong and consistent performance delivery across the portfolio and crossing 500 million customers globally'.

Brokerages are bullish on the stock after the company's robust September quarter numbers and have raised the targets.

The Average Revenue Per User or ARPU (a key metrics for telcos) stood at Rs 190 for the just-ended quarter as compared to Rs 153 in Q2 FY22 helped by focus on quality customers, feature phone to smartphone upgradation and data monetisation, Airtel said.

Meanwhile, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal expressed concern about the 'low return on capital employed that our business delivers due to pricing that is the lowest in the world'.

"Given the large investments required to drive digital adoption in India we believe there is a need for tariff correction," Vittal said in a statement on the Q2 results.

He exuded confidence that the company, which is rolling out 5G services, would deliver the best experience to the customers, adding that 5G technology has the potential of bringing tremendous innovation into India.

Airtel stocks have yielded a positive return of 20 per cent to its investors in 2022 so far. The 52-week range of the stock is Rs 833.80 - Rs 628.75. Airtel has a market cap of Rs 4,77,000 crore as per NSE.

Click Here For Latest Updates On Stock Market | Zee Business Live