Who does Airtel belong to?

Who does Airtel belong to?

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Airtel is one of the very few brands to enjoy household patronage comparable with the brand images of conglomerates having multisectoral presence. The brand image and sustenance of Airtel are put to test in several grave situations including perilous competition, systemic financial crunch, hostile situations, regulatory disruptions, and incognito business attacks. The challenges included cut-throat competition from Jio in year 2016 and resultant financial pressures, financial strain due to the regulatory definition on adjusted gross revenues (AGR) in year 2019, adverse profitability such as 65% profit decline in Q4 of FY 2020-21, debt burden with gross debt of Rs. 1.7 trillion and net debt of Rs. 1.5 trillion, and employee attrition of about 12%.

However, besides the challenges, Bharti Airtel has its own credits and credibility which are impressively sustaining. Its credits include being the first private telecom company in India, the first to launch 4G services, and the first to launch payments bank in India. In fact, the indispensable push button landline phones are introduced into India by Airtel. It is globally the 2nd largest mobile network company with presence in 17 countries and 50 crores subscribers. In India, although Reliance Jio is presently the lead, the 1st and 2nd ranks are swinging between Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, with each of them having a market share of about 36%.

Story of Airtel and its founder Mr. Sunil Mittal have generated multiple case studies for management scholars across the world. He won Padma Bhushan for his entrepreneurial achievements. Sunil Mittal’s father was an MP belonging to Congress Party. But, the Harvard alumni, Sunil Mittal has always been apolitical, and started his business at the age of 18 years even while studying. As on March 2022, Airtel has a consolidated revenue of Rs. 1.17 trillion, EBITDA of 50% being Rs. 0.58 trillion and has turned profitable during the year.

In one of the world’s most revered events i.e., ‘The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2022’ celebrated on 28th April 2023, while receiving the ‘Business Leader of the Year 2022’ award, Mr. Sunil Mittal shared few insightful things. He started his entrepreneurial journey with Rs. 20,000 capital, has no business background, and with the support from the industry and the country he could create Airtel as a global corporation. It is undeniable fact that global corporations from India which helped India attract quality money, accept volumes of capital, attract and retain best talent, and helped India stand alongside US and other developed economies. He expressed his pride to share that the telecom sector did not slowdown or suspend its operations even during covid and helped the human life going and the economic operations resume. Finally, Mr. Mittal posed an oratory rhetoric question as to ‘who does Airtel company belong to?’ and went on to prompt asking does it belong to the employees, customers, investors, or promoters? The audience in the hall included Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Mr. KV Kamath, Mr. Uday Kotak, Mr. Ananad Mahindra, and about 700 top Business Leaders of India and Senior Bureaucrats. Amidst applause, with a stoic rhythmic pause, he concluded that the company belongs to the nation and is therefore a National Asset. He also added that the business corporations and competition should be nurtured to let India stay its course. Good say. Let Airtel stay its course. ?

* Disclaimer: Dr. Kishore Nuthalapati is the CFO of BEKEM Infra Projects Pvt Ltd. Views are personal and do not reflect those of any of the organizations he is or was associated with.