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Bharti Hexacom LtdQ2 FY24

Bharti Hexacom Ltd Q2 FY24 Earnings Call Analysis

Revenue, margin, capex, fundraise and order book outlook from management commentary.

Price: 1,483P/E: 44.4Market Cap: ₹78.1K CrSector: Telecom - Services

Management growth scorecard

Revenue

Category 3

Margin

Category 3

Fundraise

N/A

Order

No

Capex

Yes

1 of 4 growth signals are positive — mixed outlook.

Full analysis

Revenue guidance

Category 3
Future growth expectations from the Bharti Airtel Q1 FY2024-25 earnings call transcript include: - India mobile revenue showed steady 1.9% sequential growth, driven by 2.3 million customer additions and 6.7 million smartphone net adds. - Homes segment (broadband via FTTH & Fixed Wireless Access) expects continued strong growth, with 50% of broadband additions now on Airtel Black. - Postpaid segment with 0.8 million net additions in Q1, contributing 36% of total net adds, has large potential with 80 million credit-scored prepaid customers poised to migrate. - Rural expansion ongoing with over 37,000 new sites and promising results. - B2B segment growth expected to gain pace, driven by adjacencies and improved go-to-market focus. - Fixed wireless access to be national by Aug/Sep, augmenting broadband market reach. - 5G customer base growing; 90 million customers have used 5G in past month with no notable dropouts after tariff hikes. - Cloud and digital businesses (CPaaS, security, financial services) targeted for significant investments and growth. - Overall, continued market share gains and revenue growth anticipated across segments.

Margin guidance

Category 3
  • Bharti Airtel expects steady revenue growth, supported by expanding quality customer segments like postpaid and homes broadband.
  • 5G customer base growth is anticipated, with 90 million customers connected during Q1 and plans to convert them onto the right plans.
  • Incremental operating leverage is strong due to a tariff repair aiming for a sustainable Rs.300 ARPU, which would improve margins and return ratios.
  • Incremental revenue growth is expected to flow significantly to the bottom line, leading to margin expansion potentially in the 400-500 basis points range.
  • Non-mobile businesses like digital services, cloud, and enterprise segments show strong growth potential contributing to diversified revenue streams.
  • Capex will moderate compared to the prior year but continue supporting network expansion and digital initiatives.
  • Financial health improvements, including deleveraging, strengthen the capacity for dividend increases alongside reinvestment.
  • Management remains cautious but optimistic about accelerated growth in earnings and profits over coming quarters and years.

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Fundraise plans

  • Bharti Airtel plans to continue capital deployment for strengthening infrastructure, network (radio, transport, core network), cloud, and data centers.
  • The company aims to reduce high-coupon debt by retiring debt with higher interest rates than the current market rates.
  • Free cash flow is growing across Airtel India, Indus, Airtel Africa, and Bharti Hexacom, supporting potential dividends and deleveraging.
  • No specific new fundraising through debt or equity is mentioned currently.
  • Management emphasizes prudent capital allocation focusing on deleveraging and dividend increases as financial health improves.
  • No explicit plans for fresh equity raising or new debt issuance were provided in the transcript.

Order book

No
  • Bharti Airtel has observed some rationalization on core connectivity.
  • The company believes this rationalization will reverse based on the current order book.
  • There is a sense of greater urgency within the company to accelerate growth via adjacencies beyond core connectivity.
  • Connectivity industry growth is about 4%-5%, indicating limited scope for growth solely through connectivity.
  • Airtel is re-engineering its B2B portfolio to include adjacencies like CPaaS and cloud, which are showing good traction.
  • The company plans significant investments in cloud, especially in managed services and its own cloud offering.
  • Overall, the order book outlook suggests stable or increasing demand supporting these strategic investments.

Capex plans

Yes
  • Incremental capex for standalone (SA) 5G network is very modest, mainly software-related as radio and core networks are ready. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) on SA will be launched nationwide by August or September (Page 12).
  • India mobile capex for FY2024-25 expected to be lower than FY2023-24 with moderation in spend; quarterly variations are normal (Page 12).
  • Continued investment in strengthening infrastructure: radio, transport, core network; increased emphasis on transport (Page 6).
  • Significant investments planned in cloud segment, focusing on managed services and private cloud offerings, partnering with large tech companies especially for banking workloads (Pages 5, 9).
  • Data center investments are ongoing, with prior guidance of around Rs.5,000 Crores over three years still on track; demand remains strong (Page 7).
  • Capital allocation also includes deleveraging and dividends as financial health improves (Pages 6, 7).

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