Bharti Hexacom Q1 FY27: PAT up 23% YoY to ₹482 Cr as ARPU gains lift margins

Bharti Hexacom's standalone Q1 FY27 revenue rose 10.9% YoY (4.0% QoQ) to ₹2,510 Cr, with PAT (pre-exceptional) up 23.2% YoY to ₹482 Cr and EPS at ₹9.65 versus ₹7.83 a year ago. Neither this quarter nor the year-ago quarter carried exceptional items, so no raw-vs-adjusted split is needed — the 23.2% growth is clean. Mobile revenue grew 9.3% YoY as ARPU improved to ₹259 from ₹246, consistent with management's guided premiumization and postpaid push, while monthly churn eased to 2.3% from 2.4% YoY. The Homes, Office and Other Services (HOBS) segment — the diversification thesis flagged in our pre-result preview — grew revenue 61.4% YoY to ₹126.5 Cr on Wi-Fi/IPTV scale-up, though segment EBIT stayed marginally negative (-₹0.4 Cr) as it continues absorbing capex (₹159.9 Cr this quarter against ₹126.6 Cr in cumulative HOBS EBITDA generated so far). Blended EBITDA margin expanded 99 bps YoY (40 bps QoQ) to 54.8% on opex leverage — operating expenses fell to 28.6% of revenue from 30.7% a year ago — with EBIT margin up 74 bps YoY to 30.7%. Against management's own Q4 FY26 guidance (ARPU acceleration via premiumization, cost discipline under the 'war on waste' initiative, capex roughly flat YoY, and a progressive dividend), the quarter tracks on-plan: ARPU +5.1% YoY, opex ratio down, and quarterly capex of ₹382 Cr annualizes to ~₹1,528 Cr versus FY26's full-year capex of ₹1,521 Cr. Against our pre-result preview — which had flagged revenue of ₹2,480–2,560 Cr, mobile growth of 3–5% YoY, HOBS growth of 45–65% YoY and an EBITDAaL margin band of 47–50% — the actual print landed mid-to-upper range on revenue and HOBS (61.4%), squarely within the margin band (48.2% EBITDAaL), and clearly beat the mobile-growth watch item (9.3% actual vs a 3–5% bar). No broker PAT poll turned up in search, consistent with the preview's own note on thin analyst coverage for this mid-cap name. Corporate context ties in cleanly: the FY26 annual report/AGM notice (Jul 18) and the ₹18/share final dividend (record date Jul 31) both reflect the guided 'progressive dividend, strong FCF' stance, and net debt/EBITDA improved further to 0.80x from 1.30x YoY (net debt ex-lease/EBITDAaL to 0.20x from 0.65x) on continued deleveraging. A ₹2.52 lakh DoT penalty for subscriber-verification lapses (Jul 30) is financially immaterial. Management's press framing — 'strong performance, revenues rising 10.9% YoY' — matches the print, and the quarter's Postpaid Fast Lane 5G-slicing launch and 399 new towers YoY are the operational levers behind the ARPU story rather than one-off drivers. Going into FY27, HOBS turning EBIT-positive and capex intensity for its build-out remain the key swing factors even as balance-sheet leverage keeps falling.