India’s Bharti Airtel posts Q4 revenue miss on currency devaluation in Africa

INDIAN telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported fourth-quarter revenue below expectations on Tuesday (May 14), hurt by currency devaluation in Africa.

India’s second-ranked telecom carrier by subscribers said consolidated revenue from operations rose 4.4 per cent to 375.99 billion rupees (S$6.1 billion) for the three months to Mar 31, missing analysts’ average estimates of 388.49 billion rupees, as per LSEG data.

Consolidated revenue was impacted by the devaluation of African currencies, particularly in the Nigerian Naira, during the period, the company said.

It said it incurred an exceptional charge of 24.56 billion rupees on account of the currency devaluation in its group subsidiaries.

Airtel reported a 4.4 per cent rise in its profit before exceptional items and taxes to 52.34 billion rupees. REUTERS