Telecom Departments in Andhra and Maharashtra Penalise Airtel for Violating Norms
The telecom departments of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have fined telecom major Bharti Airtel around INR 8 lakh. Bharti Airtel stated in an exchange filing on February 20 that it has been fined INR 6.59 lakh by the Andhra Pradesh telecom department for allegedly violating subscriber verification standards. The business added that Maharashtra authorities had fined it INR 1.37 lakh for allegedly breaking the rules governing electromagnetic field (EMF) self-certification. The filing explained the cause for the Andhra Pradesh telecom department's penalty and the alleged infringement of terms and conditions with regard to subscriber verification criteria under the License Agreement, as per the Sample CAF Audit carried out by DoT for December 2024. However, the business clarified that the "maximum financial impact" of the two fines is only as much as the penalty that was assessed. The penalty warnings were sent to Airtel on February 20.
ICIL Selling its Stakes in Bharti Telecom
The aforementioned development follows the company's announcement that Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), a promoter-group business, had sold 5.11 Cr shares, or 0.84% of Bharti Airtel, in a market transaction valued at INR 8,485.11 Cr. In a subsequent exchange statement, the business stated that this deal comes after Bharti Telecom recently purchased an extra ~1.2% (~7.31 Cr. shares) in Airtel from ICIL in November 2024. This strengthens Bharti Telecom's previously declared intention to become the primary vehicle to hold a controlling stake in Airtel, as it now owns approximately 40.47% of the company. Notably, Airtel and Vodafone Idea agreed to buy out all of their shares in Firefly Networks, their joint venture, to iBus Network and Infrastructure last month.
Financial Dynamics of Airtel
In the meantime, Airtel declared a net profit of INR 14,781 Cr for the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2024–25 (FY25), which is 505% more than the INR 2,442 Cr it reported for the same period last year. Additionally, the company's sales increased by 19% from INR 37,900 Cr in Q3 FY24 to INR 45,129 Cr in the fiscal year under review. During the quarter, the telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) was INR 245, compared to INR 208 in the third quarter of FY24. Additionally, the business teamed up with Bajaj Finance last month to provide their clients with digital financial services.
According to a media report, of the 37 analysts that follow the company, thirty have a "buy" rating on the stock, three recommend a "hold," and two recommend a "sell." An upside of 13.2% is shown by the average price estimate of analysts over the last 12 months.
Nitin Konde
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