Kolkata: Bharti Airtel and Vodafone idea †vi) will report slow sequential revenue growth in the first fiscal quarter, hit by heavy customer losses from rising mobile service costs and fewer 4G user additions due to lower sales of expensive smartphones, analysts at ICICI Effects said.
However, the brokerage expects Trust Jio to expand its customer base over the April-June period – after three consecutive quarters of decline – and report strong sequential revenue growth, continuing to benefit from last December’s rate hike as the telecom market leader has a larger number of longer-term users . plan validity.
I-Sec estimates airtel and Vi report only 1.6% and 0.6% sequential growth in their mobile revenues in India in the June quarter, respectively, while the jio Platforms sequential revenue growth is relatively higher at 3.2%.
Jio Platforms (JPL) is a full unit of Reliance that houses the telecom operations of the Mukesh Ambani group, Reliance Jio, and other digital properties and investments. However, Jio makes up the bulk of JPL’s numbers.
I-Sec estimates Airtel and Vi will report 3 million and 4 million user losses in Q1FY23, respectively, amid increased mobile service costs following the sharp rise in mobile rates late last year. However, it sees Jio reporting 5 million user additions – despite the rate hikes – as the telco has completed its long-standing removal of low-value users.
The brokerage expects Jio to also report the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) growth in the April-June period of the three privately owned airlines, growing 4% quarter on quarter to Rs 174, while forecasting the sequential growth of Airtel and Vi at Rs 174. this point counts. key performance metric down at 3% and 2% to Rs 184 and Rs 126 respectively.
The Mukesh Ambani-led JPL is also expected to report a sequential increase in net profit of 6.4% in the June quarter to approximately Rs 4,589 crore – its 19th consecutive quarterly profit – due to higher Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and lower interest costs through the refinancing of expensive spectrum debt.
However, Isec estimates that Airtel’s consolidated net profit will fall by 4% to approximately Rs 1,927 crore in June due to a likely decline in operating income. But the telco’s consolidated sales are estimated to grow about 2.6% sequentially, helped in part by sales growth in Africa.
The brokerage estimates that Vi’s quarterly loss will sequentially increase to Rs 6,647.1 crore in June, negatively impacted by heavy user losses and lower revenues due to higher power costs, underscoring its continued inability to compete effectively with its two stronger rivals.