The company posted a consolidated net profit of ₹482.4 crore in Q1FY27, compared with ₹391.6 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenue from operations increased 10.9% year-on-year to ₹2,510 crore from ₹2,263 crore.
The growth in earnings was faster than revenue expansion, indicating that Bharti Hexacom benefited from operating leverage, where higher scale helped improve profitability without a similar increase in costs.
For telecom operators, profitability is closely linked to the ability to grow average revenue from customers while efficiently managing network investments. The June-quarter performance suggests that Bharti Hexacom continued to extract better returns from its existing infrastructure while expanding its customer base.
EBITDA margin improves to over 52%
The company’s operating performance strengthened during the quarter, with EBITDA increasing 13.9% year-on-year to ₹1,322.2 crore from ₹1,160.7 crore.
EBITDA margin expanded to 52.68% from 51.29% in the corresponding quarter last year.
The improvement in margins reflects better operating efficiency and higher utilisation of the company’s telecom network as data consumption continues to rise across India.
Telecom companies typically operate with high fixed costs due to investments in spectrum, towers and technology infrastructure. Once the network is established, incremental data usage can improve profitability as additional revenue is generated without a proportionate rise in expenses.
Data consumption remains a key growth driver
Bharti Hexacom’s customer base stood at 29.9 million at the end of the quarter, up 4.4% year-on-year.
The company’s mobile data traffic surged 30.5% to 2,381 petabytes (PBs) during the quarter, highlighting the continued increase in digital consumption.
The company added 1.3 million smartphone data customers over the past year, taking its smartphone data customer base up 6% year-on-year.
The rise in data consumption reflects changing consumer behaviour, with users increasingly relying on mobile networks for video streaming, digital payments, gaming, online education and other internet-based services.
The shift towards higher data usage also creates opportunities for telecom companies to encourage customers to upgrade to higher-value plans and improve revenue per user over time.
Network expansion supports customer growth
Bharti Hexacom continued to invest in strengthening its network infrastructure during the quarter.
The company added 399 towers over the past year, aimed at improving coverage, enhancing network quality and supporting rising data demand.
Network expansion remains critical in the telecom sector, where better coverage and reliability can help companies attract new customers while retaining existing users.
The company has also focused on expanding its presence beyond mobile services through broadband and digital connectivity offerings.
Home broadband business gains momentum
The company’s Homes, Office and Other Services segment emerged as a strong growth driver during the quarter.
Revenue from the segment increased 61.4% year-on-year, supported by higher customer additions in Wi-Fi and IPTV services.
The segment’s customer base reached 0.9 million, while the company’s fibre network presence expanded to 121 cities in Q1FY27 compared with 115 cities a year earlier.
The expansion of broadband services provides Bharti Hexacom with an additional growth opportunity as households and businesses increasingly demand reliable high-speed internet connectivity.
Unlike mobile services, home broadband customers typically have longer relationships with providers and can generate steady recurring revenue streams.
Focus remains on digital connectivity opportunity
India’s telecom sector has been undergoing a structural shift, with growth increasingly driven by data consumption rather than just voice services.
Bharti Hexacom’s latest quarterly performance reflects this transition, with growth coming from higher data usage, smartphone adoption and expansion in broadband services.
The company’s ability to maintain margin expansion while investing in network infrastructure will remain an important factor in determining future growth.
As demand for digital services continues to increase, telecom operators are expected to focus on improving network capacity, expanding coverage and offering more bundled services to customers.
Shares of Bharti Hexacom ended 1.76% lower at ₹1,616.80 on the NSE on Tuesday.
Also Read: Nykaa Q1 profit more than triples to ₹80 crore as margins improve on strong growth
