Bharti Hexacom homes revenue rises 49%, cash flow remains negative

Bharti Hexacom Limited’s Homes, Office and Other Services revenue increased 49% year on year to Rs 131.2 crore in the quarter ended Sep-26, as its customer base rose 76.1% to 9.89 lakh, but segment operating free cash flow remained negative at Rs 96.7 crore because capital expenditure exceeded EBITDA.

Why did Bharti Hexacom homes revenue grow 49%?

Bharti Hexacom’s homes-related segment grew because it added customers rapidly rather than because it raised revenue per user. Homes, Office and Other Services added 71,000 customers in the Sep-26 quarter, taking its base to 9.89 lakh from 5.61 lakh a year earlier. Revenue reached Rs 131.2 crore, compared with Rs 88 crore in Sep-25, while the six-month figure increased 55% to Rs 257.7 crore from Rs 166.4 crore.

The segment provides fixed-line telephone, broadband and internet protocol television (IPTV) services, including fibre and voice connectivity with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Bharti Hexacom operated homes services in 122 cities, including local cable operators, at Sep-26, compared with 117 cities a year earlier and 121 cities in Jun-26. The increase of five cities year on year accompanied a 4.28 lakh expansion in the customer base.

Did Bharti Hexacom increase homes pricing or add more users?

Bharti Hexacom added more users while average revenue per user (ARPU) declined. Segment ARPU was Rs 475 a month in Sep-26, down 1.9% from Rs 484 in Sep-25 and down 1.4% from Rs 482 in Jun-26. The 76.1% year-on-year customer-base rise therefore outpaced the 49% revenue increase, consistent with the lower monthly ARPU.

Quarterly net additions slowed from 75,000 in Jun-26 to 71,000 in Sep-26, a sequential decline of 4.8%, although they remained above the 60,000 additions reported in Sep-25. Revenue nevertheless rose from Rs 126.5 crore in the preceding quarter to Rs 131.2 crore in Sep-26. The figures show that the segment continued to scale in the latest quarter despite the lower ARPU and slightly slower sequential additions.

How did Bharti Hexacom homes margins change?

Bharti Hexacom’s homes earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 79% year on year to Rs 53.1 crore in Sep-26, faster than revenue growth, and its EBITDA margin expanded 6.7 percentage points to 40.5%. In Sep-25, the segment generated EBITDA of Rs 29.7 crore on Rs 88 crore of revenue, producing a 33.7% margin. The margin movement reflects the gap between revenue growth of 49% and EBITDA growth of 79%.

For the six months ended Sep-26, segment EBITDA rose 89% to Rs 103.3 crore from Rs 54.6 crore, and the EBITDA margin increased 7.3 percentage points to 40.1%. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) did not follow the EBITDA trend: EBIT was Rs 10 lakh in Sep-26, compared with Rs 1.4 crore a year earlier. For the six-month period, EBIT was a loss of Rs 30 lakh, against a profit of Rs 2.8 crore in the prior-year period.

Why is Bharti Hexacom homes operating free cash flow negative?

Bharti Hexacom’s homes operating free cash flow was negative because the segment spent Rs 149.8 crore on capital expenditure in Sep-26, exceeding its Rs 53.1 crore of EBITDA by Rs 96.7 crore. Bharti Hexacom defines operating free cash flow in the presentation as EBITDA less capital expenditure. The negative figure is therefore a segment investment measure, not Bharti Hexacom’s reported net income.

The shortfall persisted even as segment EBITDA expanded. Capital expenditure increased 19% from Rs 125.4 crore in Sep-25, while EBITDA rose by Rs 23.4 crore; consequently, the cash-flow deficit widened slightly from Rs 95.7 crore to Rs 96.7 crore. In the six months ended Sep-26, capital expenditure rose 36% to Rs 309.7 crore and operating free cash flow was negative Rs 206.4 crore, compared with negative Rs 173.2 crore in the prior-year six months.

Cumulative investment in Homes, Office and Other Services was Rs 1,406.1 crore at Sep-26, 67% higher than Rs 843.3 crore at Sep-25. The investment increase occurred alongside growth in both customer base and city coverage. The presentation does not provide a future cash-flow target or a timeframe for the homes segment to turn operating-free-cash-flow positive.

How does Bharti Hexacom homes compare with mobile services?

Bharti Hexacom’s homes segment grew revenue faster than mobile services, but mobile remained far larger and generated positive operating free cash flow. Mobile revenue rose 10% year on year to Rs 2,461 crore in Sep-26, versus 49% growth to Rs 131.2 crore for Homes, Office and Other Services. Mobile EBITDA was Rs 1,363.5 crore and its EBITDA margin was 55.4%, compared with Rs 53.1 crore and 40.5%, respectively, for the homes segment.

Mobile produced operating free cash flow of Rs 1,177 crore in the quarter after Rs 186.5 crore of capital expenditure, while the homes segment recorded its Rs 96.7 crore deficit after spending Rs 149.8 crore. Bharti Hexacom’s total revenue increased 11% to Rs 2,581.8 crore, EBITDA rose 13% to Rs 1,416.6 crore and operating free cash flow was Rs 1,080.3 crore. The homes deficit therefore sat within a Bharti Hexacom result that was positive on the same EBITDA-less-capex measure.

Bharti Hexacom’s net debt, including lease obligations, was Rs 4,950.4 crore at Sep-26, down 21% from Rs 6,298.9 crore at Sep-25, while net debt excluding lease obligations declined 44% to Rs 1,575.5 crore. Bharti Hexacom reported total capital expenditure of Rs 336.3 crore for the Sep-26 quarter. Homes, Office and Other Services accounted for Rs 149.8 crore of that amount.

Conclusion

Bharti Hexacom’s Sep-26 results show a smaller fixed-line, broadband and IPTV segment expanding materially faster than mobile in customers and revenue. Its 76.1% customer-base growth, 49% revenue increase and 6.7-percentage-point EBITDA-margin expansion show EBITDA rising faster than revenue, while negative operating free cash flow reflects capital expenditure exceeding EBITDA.

The next reported markers are customer additions, ARPU, city coverage and capital expenditure in the homes segment. Bharti Hexacom added one city sequentially to reach 122 in Sep-26, while net additions eased to 71,000 from 75,000 in Jun-26 and ARPU fell to Rs 475. The presentation provides no specific homes cash-flow target, leaving the relationship between continuing investment and segment EBITDA as the key disclosed matter to watch next.