Bharti Airtel, a major player in the telecommunications industry, said on Thursday that it had made a prepayment to the Department of Telecom in the amount of Rs 3,626 crore. This allowed the company to completely clear its obligations for the spectrum that it had purchased in the 2016 auction. Bharti Airtel has now prepaid all of its spectrum dues that had interest costs that were higher than 8.65 per cent, according to a regulatory filing that the company made. Since the beginning of this calendar year, Airtel has prepaid a total of Rs 28,320 crore worth of spectrum liabilities, according to the company.
It is important to note that this is not the initial step that Bharti Airtel has taken to simplify its financial obligations. Additionally, Bharti Airtel had announced earlier in September that it had prepaid Rs 8,465 crore to the Department of Telecom to clear its deferred dues which were associated with spectrum that was acquired in 2016. 9.3 per cent was the interest rate that was attached to these liabilities. A prepayment of Rs 7,904 crore was made by the company in June as well, thereby clearing all of its deferred liabilities that were associated with spectrum that was acquired through auctions between the years and 2015. These were offered at interest rates that were even higher than 9 and a half per cent, which were respectively 10 and 9.75 per cent.
In October, the telecom company made an announcement regarding its earnings for the fiscal second quarter, which showed a profit of Rs 3593.20 crore. This represents a growth of 168.0 per cent when compared to the earnings of Rs 1340.70 crore during the FY24 quarte,r that was comparable to the current quarter. Revenue from operations had been reported at Rs 41,473.30 crore, representing a 12.0% increase from the previous year’s figure of Rs 37,043.80 crore, which was recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year. The growth in revenue was driven by strong momentum in India and sustained constant currency growth in Africa, according to the statement published by the company. The EBITDA of the company was in the amount of Rs 21,846.3 crore.
