Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) Q4 03/04 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY04 consolidated revenue reached Rs 50,369 Mn, up 65% YoY; net profit was Rs 5,837 Mn, the first full year of profitability.

• Customer base more than doubled to 7.14 million at March 31, 2004, including 6.50 million mobile and 0.64 million fixed-line customers.

• Licences, Hexacom acquisition and planned circle launches extended the mobile footprint toward nationwide coverage.

Financial highlights

• Consolidated EBITDA was Rs 17,055 Mn, up 123% YoY; cash profit from operations was Rs 14,363 Mn, up 193%.

• Profit before tax was Rs 5,527 Mn versus a loss of Rs 1,762 Mn in FY03; EPS was Rs 3.15 versus loss per share of Rs 1.11.

• Net cash generated from operating activities was Rs 18,838 Mn; capital expenditure was Rs 24,708 Mn, adjusted for movement in capital work in progress.

Outlook and guidance

• FY05 plans targeted mobile launches in the remaining seven circles and an all-India service footprint; the Assam licence application was in progress.

• Priorities included revenue growth, operating-cost and capex optimization, customer service, innovative value-added offerings and Six Sigma process improvements.

• Management expected consolidation and aggressive competition to continue; customer experience, network quality and product innovation were identified as differentiators amid low tariffs.