Airtel Q3 Result Preview: Profit may drop 50% QoQ; Arpu seen rising to Rs 162

The fall in profit would be seen as the numbers in the September quarter were aided by proceedings of sale of spectrum assets to Reliance Jio.

Consolidated revenues are seen rising 3.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 29,367 crore.

Ebitda is seen rising 5.5 per cent QoQ to Rs 14,570 crore. Ebitda margin is seen rising to 49.2 per cent from 48.8 per cent sequentially.

The average revenue per user (Arpu) is seen rising 6 per cent QoQ to Rs 162 while subscriber base may grow marginally to 32.38 crore from 32.35 crore in the September quarter.

“Revenue for the mobile business is likely to rise 5.5 per cent to Rs 16,016 crore while the Ebitda for the segment is seen growing 8.3 per cent at Rs 8,085 crore. The broadband and enterprise segment revenues are likely to be robust. Strong Africa business growth will drive the consolidated numbers,” ET NOW poll suggested.

The benefit of December tariff hikes would be seen in the March quarter, the poll suggested.

Analysts said they would watch out for subscriber trends post tariff hikes; competitive intensity in Indian wireless business; updates on 5G trials and spectrum auctions; metrics for India non-wireless business; and traction for Airtel Black and Airtel’s digital assets in the quarterly earnings announcement.