Rding on the back of increasing subscriber additions, Bharti Airtel has registered yet another impressive performance for financial year 2006-07.Going by its track record, this is not unexpected. Over the years, the company has grown consistently, showing strong, sequential improvements in its profits and revenues.

During the year, the company registered a 59 per cent increase in its total revenue (including inter-segment eliminations) from Rs 116.2 billion in the year ended March 2006 to Rs 185.2 billion in the year ended March 2007. This is as per US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Mobile operations and broadband and telephony operations contributed 76.4 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively to the total revenue. Enterprise services accounted for about 23.7 per cent of the revenue base.

During this period, the company's net profit (net income) rose by approximately 89 per cent from Rs 22.56 billion to Rs 42.57 billion. Its total assets at the end of March 2007 stood at Rs 297.88 billion.Over the last few years, the company's debtequity ratio has also come down to 0.45.

Commenting on the company's results and performance for the quarter, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, said: "The Indian telecom sector has witnessed unprecedented growth this year led by the mobile segment. At Bharti Airtel, this has been a year of accelerated growth and market leadership, and we are delighted to be leading the telecom revolution in the country... The demand for telecom services across all segments remains buoyant and we believe that this growth momentum can be sustained."

Bharti's topline growth was facilitated by a robust increase in subscriber base.The company's total customer base as of March 2007 was 39.01 million including 37.14 million mobile users and over 1.8 million broadband and wireline telephone service customers. This represents an 86 per cent year-on-year growth and a 16 per cent increase over the October-December 2006 quarter.

Segment-wise, mobile telephony was on top with its subscriber base expanding by as much as 90 per cent. This took the company's GSM market share from 20.4 per cent to 22.9 per cent during the period under review. The company's fixed line telephony business also witnessed a 39 per cent rise.

The only negative to mar the company's otherwise good performance was a decline in its average revenue per user (ARPU) for GSM services. Its GSM ARPU dropped from Rs 442 in March 2006 to Rs 406 in March 2007, a result primarily of the lower tariffs charged by the company. Also, 88.5 per cent of the company's user base is prepaid, which is known to yield lower ARPUs than postpaid services. Its only consolation perhaps is that, compared to many other GSMbased service providers, it has managed to maintain higher ARPUs. Also, Bharti's broadband and telephony services segment's ARPUs were three times higher than those of the mobile segment at Rs 1,112, as of March 31, 2007.

Bharti experienced a 3.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent monthly churn in its post-paid and prepaid segments respectively.

For the quarter ended March 2007, Bharti's capital expenditure on mobile services was Rs 10.7 billion. The corresponding figure for the company's broadband and telephony services segment was Rs 1.9 billion.

In order to maintain its competitiveness, the company has taken a series of initiatives. It has reorganised its management structure, with Manoj Kohli taking over as the company's new president and CEO. Akhil Gupta is managing director of Bharti Enterprises and group lead director, telecom.

The company has also incorporated Bharti Airtel Lanka (Private) Limited as a wholly owned subsidiary in order to provide 2G and 3G telecom services in Sri Lanka. It has also incorporated Bharti Airtel (Singapore) Private Limited as a wholly owned subsidiary, which will obtain a licence for interconnecting the i2i cable with other submarine cable landing systems in Singapore. This will enable the company to provide enhanced connectivity to the US west coast and Asia-Pacific.

In 2006, the company took significant steps to provide rural connectivity. By the end of the year, its network was up and running, even in the remote areas of Leh, Ladakh and the Northeast.

All in all, the company's strong financial performance is a reflection of its consistent efforts to improve operations and enhance productivity.