Sunil Mittal plans to hand over Airtel reins to next generation in 10 years
New Delhi, May 14
Chairman and Founder of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal, on Thursday said that he plans to hand over the reins of the telecom major to the next generation in 10 years.
“If you really ask me, my own wish is that in the next, I know it is hard to put in years on it and then next decade. As I kind of come to a point where I hand over the reins to the next generation and shareholders, Bharti Telecom should get back to controlling shareholding 51 per cent or just over 50 per cent," Mittal said in the company's concall.
Mittal was re-appointed as Chairman of Bharti Airtel for another five-year term on Wednesday, with effect from October 1, 2026. The company's board also approved the re-appointment of Nisaba Godrej as an Independent Director for a second term of five years, effective August 4 this year.
Airtel's mobile services segment in India contributed 28,831 crore to the total revenue in Q4 FY2026, with growth of 8.3 per cent during the Jan-March quarter. The growth came on the back of a rising customer base, along with about 5 per cent growth in ARPU to Rs 257 from Rs 245 earlier, the company has stated in a regulatory filing.
Bharti Airtel posted a 33.5 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 7,325 crore for the March 2026 quarter, mainly due to one-time provisions related to statutory and tax liabilities.
The company's annual revenue crossed Rs 2 lakh crore for the first time.
Airtel’s consolidated revenue from operations rose 15.6 per cent to Rs 55,383.2 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 47,876.2 crore annually, driven by a 40 per cent jump in the Africa business.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose over 3 per cent on Thursday, a day after the company announced its January-March quarter results. Despite reporting a lower-than-expected net profit in the March quarter, owing to a one-time charge, investors remain largely upbeat on the stock on the back of the company's strong fundamentals. In March 2026, the company crossed a milestone of 65 crore customers as part of its expanding business.
— IANS
Reader Comments
10 years is a long time. By then Airtel will need to compete with Jio's next generation network and maybe even Starlink. Hope the Mittal family has a clear vision beyond just handing over shares.
Crossed 2 lakh crore revenue! That's HUGE. But net profit down 33% due to provisions? 😬 Hope that's just a one-time thing. Mittal sir built Airtel from scratch, proud Indian company.
As someone who follows Indian telecom closely, I think Sunil Mittal's timeline is realistic. Airtel has strong fundamentals and Africa business is booming. The next gen will need to focus on 5G monetization and rural expansion though.
Nisaba Godrej's re-appointment as independent director is good for corporate governance. Women leaders in Indian boardrooms is always welcome. 👏
65 crore customers! That's more than the population of most countries. Airtel's ARPU growth to Rs 257 is healthy but still low by global standards. Hope the next generation can innovate pricing models without burdening consumers.
Mittal sir's vision is commendable. But I hope the company also focuses on improving customer service. As a long-time Airtel user, network quality
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