In a quarter marred by the lockdown, 2mn 4G subscriber additions and 12% QoQ data volume growth indicate smartphone users’ preference for Airtel 4G LTE network as well. Data volume growth was strong at 12% QoQ, taking data consumption further up to 16.6GB, from 15GB per customer. We believe Airtel's highest-in-the-industry data usage per customer would further drive up ARPU going forward.
In our view, Bharti's ability to garner smartphone subscribers despite its premium pricing will aid revenue market share as this segment has the highest propensity to pay and would benefit operators the most, should tariffs rise or the industry consolidate.
We attribute the 50bps QoQ increase in EBITDA margin to lower subscriber acquisition cost and marketing spends, some of which are likely to resurface.
