Bharti Airtel founder-chairman Sunil Mittal said on Monday that the telecom company has been “loaded with extraordinary debt” and that he will not shy away from raising prices. During an investor call, Mittal also said that he remains committed to monetisation of assets but at the right time.
“We want to improve our debt leverage and have access to growth capital,” said Mittal.
The remarks come a day after Bharti Airtel’s board approved plan to raise $2.86 billion by selling shares to existing shareholders ahead of the rollout of its 5G network.
“The board of directors… comprehensively reviewed the industry scenario, business environment, financial/business strategy of the company and approved the company’s plan to raise further capital,” the telco said in a notice to the stock exchange. The shares will be priced at 535 rupees each, it added.
India’s communications ministry in May authorised trials of the super-fast 5G wireless technology.
The trials are being conducted by Airtel and other telecom service providers, such as Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and MTNL.
5G is being touted as the next big thing in the telecom space. It will significantly scale up connectivity pipes, enabling ultra-high-speeds and new-age applications for users, and new revenue streams for players in India, the world’s second-largest telecom market and the biggest data consumer.
Airtel is the second largest telco among the private players in India. As per the subscriber data released by telecom regulator, Airtel added 38.1 lakh wireless subscribers in June, pushing up its mobile user base to 35.2 crore.
Jio, which has been cementing its lead, gained 54.6 lakh users in the same month, as its mobile subscriber base swelled to 43.6 crore.
Airtel is engaged in a legal battle with the government over the issue of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). As per data from the communications ministry, while the total AGR dues of various telecom companies (both private and state-owned telcos) aggregated to ₹1,69,048.65 crore, payment totalling ₹30,283.59 crore has been received till date, and nearly ₹1,38,765 crore is outstanding payable.
For Airtel, whose overall dues stood at ₹43,980 crore, payment of ₹18,004 crore has been received even as ₹25,976 crore is outstanding payable.
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