Bharti Airtel extend rally for second straight day amid tariff hike speculations

Bharti Airtel share prices continued their rally for the second consecutive session on Friday, April 19, after closing nearly 5% higher on the NSE in the previous session.

Bharti Airtel shares rallied more than another 1% to an intraday high of ₹1280.75 up from Thursday's closing at ₹1265.75. The spike in the telco's share price was seen amid expectation of tariff hikes.

The expected tariff hike is likely to give a major boost to the company, which is reportedly struggling due to the hyper-competition in the sector. Other major players, including Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and Vodafone-Idea, are also likely to announce similar tariff hikes soon.

Bharti Airtel shares have gained over 34% over the last six months. The company has been in the spotlight this week after announcing a definitive agreement with Axiata Group's Dialog to merge its operations in Sri Lanka.

As part of the deal, Dialog will acquire a 100% stake in Airtel Lanka. In exchange, Bharti Airtel will get ordinary voting shares amounting to 10.355% of the total issued shares of Dialog by way of a share swap. Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has already given its nod to the proposed merger, Bharti Airtel said in an exchange filing.

Commenting on the development, Bharti Airtel's CEO and MD, Gopal Vittal said, “We are happy to merge our Sri Lanka operations with Dialog. Given the scale and unique propositions they offer, we are certain that our customers will continue to enjoy cutting-edge services on a seamless network."

The deal is subject to approval by Dialog’s shareholders and pending completion of the conditions of the Share Sale Agreement, including clearance from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and other applicable legal, corporate and regulatory compliance procedures.

The March quarter (Q4) and full-year earning reports of the company are expected soon. Bharti Airtel had reported a consolidated net profit of ₹2,442.2 crore in the December 2023 quarter, a 54% YoY jump. The firm's revenue for the period under review shot 6.3% YoY to ₹38,339 crore from ₹36,062 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

At 11:52 am, Bharti Airtel shares were trading at ₹1,270 apiece, up 0.34% on the NSE.