Bharti Hexacom raises asset spending 50%, cash falls Rs 7.5 crore

Bharti Hexacom Limited, referred to as Bharti Hexacom, raised purchases of property, plant and equipment and capital work-in-progress by 50% to Rs 1,005.6 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026, while paying Rs 900 crore in dividends; cash and cash equivalents consequently fell to Rs 7.5 crore from Rs 33 crore at March 31, 2026.

How much operating cash did Bharti Hexacom generate?

Bharti Hexacom generated Rs 2,724 crore of net cash from operating activities in the six months ended September 30, 2026, up Rs 252.8 crore from Rs 2,471.2 crore a year earlier. Profit before tax rose to Rs 1,354.1 crore from Rs 1,090.9 crore, while depreciation and amortisation, a non-cash charge added back in the cash-flow statement, increased to Rs 1,192.8 crore from Rs 1,081.6 crore.

Cash generated from operations before tax was Rs 3,002.2 crore, compared with Rs 2,818.4 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2025. Trade payables added Rs 227.3 crore of cash and provisions added Rs 31.3 crore, while trade receivables used Rs 43.2 crore after providing Rs 4.3 crore in the comparable period. Net income tax paid fell to Rs 278.2 crore from Rs 347.2 crore.

Bharti Hexacom reported revenue from operations of Rs 5,091.7 crore for the six-month period, up from Rs 4,580.3 crore, and profit for the period of Rs 1,048.5 crore, compared with Rs 812.8 crore. Mobile Services generated Rs 4,856.3 crore of segment revenue against Rs 4,430.1 crore a year earlier, while Homes, Office and Other Services increased to Rs 257.7 crore from Rs 166.4 crore.

Why did Bharti Hexacom’s investing outflow rise?

Bharti Hexacom used Rs 1,441.7 crore in investing activities in the six months ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 922.6 crore a year earlier. The main movement was Rs 1,005.6 crore of purchases of property, plant and equipment and capital work-in-progress, up Rs 337.1 crore from Rs 668.5 crore. That change represented a 50% increase in this asset-spending category.

Net purchases of current investments also rose to Rs 410.3 crore from Rs 206.8 crore in the preceding-year six months. Payments towards spectrum, including deferred payment liability, were Rs 43.4 crore, compared with Rs 40.5 crore. The filing says the spectrum line includes deferred-payment liabilities and related interest for spectrum acquired in the 2022 auction.

Not every investing line increased. Purchases of intangible assets declined to Rs 6.9 crore from Rs 15.1 crore, while proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment rose to Rs 7.7 crore from Rs 6.5 crore. Interest received increased to Rs 16.8 crore from Rs 1.8 crore, but these changes did not offset the higher physical-asset and current-investment purchases.

How did the dividend affect Bharti Hexacom’s cash flows?

Bharti Hexacom paid Rs 900 crore in dividends during the six months ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 500 crore in the corresponding period of 2025. The Rs 400 crore increase came within net financing cash outflows of Rs 1,307.8 crore, lower than the Rs 1,544.5 crore outflow reported a year earlier.

The lower financing outflow despite the higher dividend reflected the movement in short-term borrowings. Bharti Hexacom recorded net proceeds of Rs 50 lakh from short-term borrowings, whereas it reported net repayments of Rs 629.3 crore in the previous-year period. Interest and other finance charges paid declined to Rs 212.5 crore from Rs 227.2 crore, while lease-liability payments increased to Rs 195.8 crore from Rs 188 crore.

The cash-flow statement classifies the dividend as financing activity rather than an operating or investing item. The Rs 900 crore payment equalled roughly one-third of the Rs 2,724 crore operating cash inflow for the six months, before the Rs 1,441.7 crore investing outflow. The figures show why a higher operating inflow did not produce a higher cash-and-equivalents balance.

What was Bharti Hexacom’s cash position at September 2026?

Bharti Hexacom ended September 30, 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 7.5 crore, down from Rs 33 crore at March 31, 2026. The cash-flow statement recorded a Rs 25.5 crore net decrease during the six months, compared with a Rs 4.1 crore increase in the corresponding 2025 period, when closing cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 21.2 crore.

The closing balance reflected Rs 2,724 crore of operating inflow, Rs 1,441.7 crore of investing outflow and Rs 1,307.8 crore of financing outflow. Current investments on the balance sheet were Rs 823.4 crore at September 30, 2026, up from Rs 631.2 crore at March 31, while other bank balances rose to Rs 274.3 crore from Rs 27.6 crore. Both categories are reported separately from cash and cash equivalents.

Bharti Hexacom’s total borrowings were Rs 2,652.1 crore at September 30, 2026, comprising Rs 2,369.5 crore of non-current borrowings and Rs 282.6 crore of current borrowings. That total was Rs 42.2 crore below Rs 2,694.3 crore at March 31, 2026. Lease liabilities were Rs 3,374.9 crore at September 30, comprising Rs 2,811 crore of non-current liabilities and Rs 563.9 crore of current liabilities.

Conclusion

Bharti Hexacom generated Rs 252.8 crore more operating cash than a year earlier, supported by higher profit before tax and lower net tax payments. However, the increase in property, plant and equipment and capital work-in-progress spending, larger current-investment purchases and a Rs 400 crore year-on-year increase in dividends together left the company with Rs 7.5 crore of cash and cash equivalents.

The filing does not disclose a forward capital-spending plan, dividend target or scheduled corporate event. The unresolved point for subsequent results is whether Bharti Hexacom continues asset purchases at the Rs 1,005.6 crore six-month level and how its operating cash is allocated between investment purchases, financing payments and dividends.