Airtel MD: ARPU Improvement Needs Tariff Hikes

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said while there has been a clear rise in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) on an 'organic basis', the "real improvement" in this metrics will come from "tariff repair".

During the company's Q3 investor call, Bharti Airtel Managing Director Gopal Vittal asserted it is not a question of whether tariff repair will happen, but rather when it will happen.

"The real improvement will come only if there is a tariff repair. As I have mentioned before it is not a question of if tariff repair will happen, it is a question of when it will happen," the Airtel top honcho said.

There has been an improvement in ARPU in the absence of tariffs hikes too, he noted citing the organic levers.

"We have seen improvement in ARPU in absence of tariffs hikes...yes, in some quarters it is higher, some quarters lower. But if you take slightly longer timeframe there is clearly a movement up in the ARPU on an organic basis, given the levers that I spoke about...post paid, data monetisation, international roaming, shifting to higher price plans etc. But this will be a modest improvement," he noted.

Further, Vittal said that free data on 5G is a "headwind" on any monetisation.

The company on Monday reported a 54 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,442.2 crore in the December quarter, bolstered by growth in high value customers.

Despite devaluation of African currencies during the period, the consolidated revenue from operations during the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal grew 5.8 per cent to Rs 37,899.5 crore from Rs 35,804.4 crore in the year-ago period.