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Bharti Hexacom Ltd

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BSE Code : 544162 | NSE Symbol : BHARTIHEXA | ISIN : INE343G01021 | Industry : Telecomm-Service |


Chairman's Speech

Dear Shareholders,

The year 2023-24 was a momentous one leading to a significant milestone for the Company when the number of its shareholders increased from 2 to several lakhs. The recent IPO of 7.5 Crore shares was oversubscribed about 30 times, making it a resounding success, a great vote of confidence in the Company, and a humbling experience for all of us. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our investors for reposing faith in the Company. We look forward to a future of transformational growth, steadfast in our commitment to serve our customers and all stakeholders with unwavering dedication.

The Indian economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of global uncertainties and sustained its performance, driven by strong investment outlay by the Government of India in the areas of manufacturing, infrastructure, supply chain, logistics, and more. The structural policy framework paves the way for a vision of sustainable and long-term growth for the nation. In addition, Central Bank's agility to address global shocks and inflationary pressures has been supporting the country's economic progress. The telecom industry is the backbone of India's digital economy and a principal catalyst for its overall growth. This sector is playing a pivotal role in expanding connectivity and providing value added services to facilitate businesses to thrive and grow. FY 2023-24 was notable year for the industry with a rapid 5G rollout across the country. 5G has the potential to create new capabilities and enable new business opportunities for a host of industries, including education, healthcare, transportation, gaming, financial services and many more. In the areas with low fixed line penetration, 5G can unleash growth opportunities and meet high data demand through fixed wireless access (FWA) offerings. The Government's supportive approach towards the sector continues and the new Telecommunications Act will promote investment in the sector along an orderly growth path. Rajasthan and Northeast , the telecom circles in which your Company operates, provide long-term growth opportunities. Though not densely populated, these regions, with significant scope of expansion of digital services, contribute significantly to the nation's economy. Both mobile and fixed line data penetration is lower than the national average in Rajasthan and the Northeast, providing the potential for long-term growth for the telecom industry. The Government's focus on improving connectivity and infrastructure in these regions further opens the doors to promising opportunities.

Over the years, Bharti Hexacom has made significant investments across these regions to bolster connectivity and support economic growth. In FY 2023-24, we invested about H 20 billion in the business, one of the highest in the history of the Company, contributing to the rapid rollout of 5G services and expanding our coverage in rural areas. The Company added 2.5 million 4G/5G customers with total data customers now accounting for 72.3% of the total base as compared to 55.6% three years back. Over the last three years, the Company has expanded home broadband offerings to 93 cities from 23 cities in FY 2020-21, through innovative and trusted local cable operator partnerships across the regions. Our simple strategy to attract quality customers by giving them exceptional experience has fortified our leadership in Northeast and consistently narrowed the gap in Rajasthan. As a result, we ended FY 2023-24 with lifetime-high revenue market share in both markets. Superior revenue growth, coupled with organic operating leverage and operational excellence driven by our relentless focus on driving cost efficiencies, has led to strong EBITDA growth over the years. Operating free cash generation and prudent capital allocation supported sustained deleveraging for the Company. Net-debt to EBITDA for FY 2023-24 stood at 2.2x as compared to 2.8x in FY 2022-23. With no renewal of spectrum till FY 2029-30 and the past dues limited to payment of instalments for spectrum auctions of 2021 and 2022, your Company is headed to having an even more robust balance sheet.

Looking ahead, we remain committed to our simple and clear strategy of providing a bouquet of top quality telecom services and the best consumer experience under the Airtel brand to our ever-growing number of customers. This will be made possible by our excellent leadership and management team, comprising professionals with technical expertise and dedication. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and with the Indian telecom sector entering an era of increased profitability, we are optimistic about the potential of your company to deliver many years of achievement, growth and success. Bharti Hexacom is deeply conscious of its responsibility to the environment and its obligation to the society at large. Beyond immediate business priorities, the Company is also taking concrete steps to reduce its environmental footprint and adopt energy conservation and technology absorption initiatives. Additionally, it is committed to transparency and effective governance and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace while maintaining stringent health and safety standards.

We owe our success in FY 2023-24 to the efforts of our Board of Directors, management team, and our employees. I would also like to extend my gratitude to our customers, suppliers, agents, and all our partners and shareholders for their contribution and support. I thank the outgoing directors Shri. Sanjeev Kumar, Shri. Surajit Mandol, Mr. Rahul Vatts, Mr. Ravinder Arora and Ms. Vidyut Gulati for their contribution to the Company and welcome Mr. Ashok Tyagi, Mr. Arvind Kohli, Mr. Arun Gupta, Mr. Kapal Kumar Vohra and Ms. Nalina Suresh as Independent Directors to the Board.

Jagdish Saksena Deepak
Chairman