Africa's contribution to Airtel's revenue rises to 31% in Q2 FY27; India Homes EBIT falls 48%

Bharti Airtel's Africa business accounted for nearly 31% of its consolidated revenue in the September quarter, up from 26.2% a year earlier, marking the growing contribution of its overseas operations even as profitability in its Indian Homes business came under pressure. While Africa revenue grew 25.7% in reported dollar terms, the Homes segment in India reported a 47.8% decline in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), despite a 25.3% increase in revenue.

Africa revenue stood at ₹18,816 crore in Q2 FY27, against ₹13,680 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Growth was 20.6% in constant currency terms. Its share of consolidated revenue increased to 30.9% from 26.2%. India and South Asia, meanwhile, contributed ₹42,308 crore, or around 69.5% of consolidated revenue, compared with 74.2% a year earlier. The regional figures include eliminations and other adjustments.

Africa's contribution was also reflected in its operating performance. The business reported constant-currency EBITDA growth of 22.7% to $988 million, with its EBITDA margin improving to 50.5% from 49.6%. Its customer base expanded 11.6% year-on-year to 193.9 million.

Executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal said Africa had delivered a standout quarter, with revenue growing 6.7% sequentially in constant currency terms. He attributed the improving performance partly to the rollout of Airtel's homegrown technology stack across markets, which he said was strengthening its go-to-market capabilities. "Group-wide synergies are also beginning to deliver tangible operating gains," he said.

Homes revenue grows, but EBIT nearly halves

In contrast, Airtel's Homes business in India reported revenue of ₹2,336 crore, up 25.3% year-on-year, supported by 676,000 customer additions during the quarter. Its customer base reached 15.4 million.

However, the segment's EBITDA increased at a slower pace of 22.1% to ₹1,140 crore, while its EBITDA margin contracted 130 basis points to 48.8%. EBIT fell to ₹157 crore from ₹301 crore a year earlier. The segment's capital expenditure increased 17.2% to ₹2,181 crore.

Net income rises 31%; 1 GW data centre ambition

At the consolidated level, Airtel reported net income after exceptional items of ₹8,888 crore, up 30.9% from ₹6,792 crore a year earlier. Revenue increased 16.7% to ₹60,878 crore, while EBITDA rose 17.8% to ₹35,240 crore. The EBITDA margin expanded 50 basis points to 57.9%.

Net income before exceptional items stood at ₹9,015 crore. The company recognised an exceptional charge of ₹180.2 crore towards provisions for expenses related to the proposed initial public offering of a subsidiary in Africa.

Airtel also invested ₹2,825.8 crore in a strategic land parcel during the quarter for data centre expansion in India, over and above its consolidated quarterly capital expenditure of ₹12,467 crore. Vittal said the investment marked another step towards the company's ambition of building 1 GW of data centre capacity. The company did not disclose a timeline for reaching that target.

Vittal also pointed to financial services as an emerging growth business, saying initial traction following its commercial launch had been encouraging. He said Airtel's digital platforms, data analytics capabilities and operating model would provide a foundation to scale the business.

In India, revenue grew 9.4% to ₹42,308 crore. Mobile revenue increased 10.1%, while average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to ₹271 from ₹256 a year earlier. Airtel added a record 1.2 million postpaid customers during the quarter, taking its postpaid base to 31.2 million. Airtel Business revenue also grew 11.4% year-on-year to ₹5,878 crore.