🧠 At a Glance
Bharti Airtel went from “please port me” in 2020 to “India’s most profitable telco” in 2025. From bleeding losses to ₹12,476 Cr net profit, Airtel pulled a Reliance-style turnaround — minus the drama. With Africa booming, 5G rolling, and Jio distracted with OTT, is Sunil Mittal’s empire entering a golden network era?
📡 1. Business Model: One Airtel, Many Wavelengths
- 📲 Mobile Services: Core revenue driver — India + 14 African nations
- 🌐 Home Broadband: 6.5M+ customers, rising ARPU
- 📺 DTH: Airtel Digital TV — still hanging in there
- 💳 Airtel Payments Bank: Now profitable, growing rapidly
- 🛰️ Enterprise & Cloud: B2B, Nxtra Data Centers, 5G infra monetization
It’s now a converged digital services platform — not just a telco.
Think: Jio + HDFC Payments + CtrlS + ACT Fiber, rolled into one.
📊 2. Financial Recap (FY21–FY25)
| ₹ in Cr | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,00,616 | 1,16,547 | 1,39,145 | 1,49,982 | 1,72,985 |
| Net Profit | -12,364 | 8,305 | 12,287 | 8,558 | 37,481 |
| ROCE (%) | 7% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 15% |
| ROE (%) | -21% | 10% | 14% | 13% | 28% |
| OPM (%) | 45% | 49% | 51% | 52% | 54% |
| EPS (₹) | -25.63 | 7.23 | 14.97 | 13.20 | 58.85 |
🔴 FY21 was brutal (AGR dues, Vodafone Idea survival, 5G capex)
🟢 FY25 is a clean, profitable beast. OPM at 54%, best-in-class.
📈 3. Growth Snapshot
| Metric | 3Y CAGR | 5Y CAGR | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 14% | 15% | 15% |
| Profit Growth | 96% | 31% | 133% |
| Stock Price CAGR | 43% | 27% | 31% |
💡 Cash from Ops (FY25): ₹98,332 Cr
That’s more than combined free cash flows of Tata Steel + HDFC Bank.
🌍 4. Africa Calling (And Contributing)
Bharti Airtel Africa is:
- 🚀 Profitable, with strong EBITDA margins
- 💸 Listing value unlocked via Airtel Africa Plc (London)
- 📈 High ARPU relative to peers
- 💰 Becoming Airtel India’s cash cow
It’s like Airtel bought an African 5G IPO… 10 years before everyone else.
🧾 5. Balance Sheet Highlights
- 🧮 Net Debt: ₹2.13 Lakh Cr → High, but falling
- 🏗️ Capex: ₹45,000+ Cr yearly (5G, fiber, datacenters)
- 💰 Dividend: ₹16/share announced for FY25
- 💳 Payments Bank: Profitable + partnerships with Axis, NPCI, Flipkart, etc.
Despite heavy capex, Operating Cash Flow covers everything.
🔬 6. Key Differentiators
| Airtel Advantage | Notes |
|---|---|
| 🔗 5G Rollout Ahead | 26 GHz + sub-GHz combo for urban + rural |
| ☁️ Nxtra Data Centers | B2B cloud push + hyperscaler tie-ups |
| 🏦 Payments Bank | India’s first profitable payments bank |
| 🌍 Africa Operations | Profitable, dollar hedge |
| 📶 ARPU Growth | ₹200+ → ₹210+ in India, with pricing power |
📉 7. Risks & Red Flags
- 🧾 Still carries ₹2.1L Cr+ debt
- ⚠️ Price war risk if Jio slashes rates again
- 📉 DTH fading as OTT & broadband cannibalize
- 🧯 AGR liabilities still exist (but provisioned mostly)
💸 8. Valuation & Fair Value
Assume FY26 PAT = ₹40,000 Cr
Assign P/E range of 28x–35x for a stable, capital-intensive telco
➡️ FV Range = ₹11.2L Cr – ₹14L Cr
✅ Current MCap = ₹11.18L Cr
📶 Reasonably valued, with room to re-rate if ARPU hikes continue or Africa listing is monetized
🧠 TL;DR – Port Your Mind to Airtel?
- From 5G towers to African towers, Airtel is no longer a recovery story — it’s an empire.
- FY25 net profit hit ₹37,481 Cr with a 54% margin.
- Payments Bank, Nxtra Cloud, Airtel Africa = 3 silent growth levers
- Stock isn’t cheap, but not overvalued either
- Buy on data pack hikes, sit tight during spectrum auctions
Tags:
Bharti Airtel 5-year review, Airtel stock analysis, Airtel vs Jio, telecom multibagger, Airtel Payments Bank, Airtel Africa, 5G stocks India, EduInvesting Bharti Airtel
✍️ Written by Prashant | 📅 18 June 2025
