(Reuters) -Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported a higher quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by a one-time gain and as tariff hikes continued to boost its per-user revenue. The company's consolidated net profit rose to 147.

Bharti Airtel Ltd. reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted mostly by one-time gains and the higher user fees it imposed in July.

Bharti Airtel reports five-fold surge in net profit to ₹16,135 crore, driven by strong revenue growth in India and Africa.

India’s No 2 wireless carrier, posted a 506% jump in net income to 147.8 billion rupees (US$1.7 billion) for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to a filing Thursday. That beat the average 50.2 billion-rupee profit estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

The firm's revenue rose 19% to Rs 45,129 crore in Q3FY25. A Moneycontrol poll of seven brokerage firms had estimated Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit to double year-on-year to Rs 5,039 crore, with revenue expected to rise nearly 16 percent to Rs 43,874 crore. A poll of six brokerages had projected the company's EBITDA margin at 54 percent.

Bharti Airtel's vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal says the industry needs “further tariff repair” to ensure sustained investments and long-term value creation.

Bharti Airtel has posted a whopping 505% jump in its net profit for the quarter ending December 31, 2024. The telecom giant's net profit stood at ₹14,781 crore, up from ₹2,442 crore in the previous year. The massive growth, which topped market expectations, was attributed to a number of factors such as tariff hikes and a better subscriber mix.

Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported a higher quarterly profit on Thursday, as last year's tariff hikes continued to uplift its per-user revenue and helped by a one-time gain.