Indus Towers Revenue Rises 4% to 8,516 Crore Rupees as Profit Falls
Key Facts
Indus Towers reported its audited consolidated results for the second quarter of FY2027, ended September 30, on October 27, posting revenue of 8,516 crore rupees, up 4.0% year on year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to 4,633 crore rupees, up 0.4% year on year. By contrast, profit after tax fell 2.5% to 1,793 crore rupees, and the EBITDA margin was 54.4%. The results show a contrast between growth in revenue and limited growth in operating earnings, and a decline in net profit. The available information does not include analyst estimates that would allow the results to be described as below market expectations.
The company expanded its operating base during the quarter, with 270,480 telecom towers as of September 30, up 5.6% from the same period a year earlier. Co-location sites reached 440,153, up 5.9% year on year. The company added 7,903 co-location sites during the quarter, while the average co-location factor was 1.62 sites per tower, compared with 1.63 a year earlier. Alongside the increase in sites, monthly co-location revenue per tower fell to 66,532 rupees in September 2026 from 67,924 rupees in September 2025, a year-on-year decline of 2.0%. These indicators show a combination of network expansion and lower average revenue per tower, without by themselves establishing the effect of either on profitability.
On liquidity, free cash flow from operations rose to 1,107 crore rupees, up 6.5% year on year. By contrast, adjusted funds from operations stood at 3,023 crore rupees, down 0.5% from a year earlier. Chief Executive Prashur Sah said that "continued customer demand, co-location additions and cash flow generation" supported the quarter's performance. He added that initial launches in Africa were "on track, with momentum expected to build in the second half of the year." Management's comments link demand and site additions with cash flow, while the quarterly figures show a divergence between growth in free cash flow from operations and a decline in adjusted funds from operations.
The company said the second quarter of FY2026 benefited from a reversal of doubtful-debt provisions worth 195 crore rupees, supported by the collection of earlier outstanding dues. This forms part of the year-on-year comparison and may affect how the change in profit between the two periods is read, as profit after tax in the current quarter fell 2.5% year on year. In the first quarter of FY2027, management reported that gross revenue rose 4.6% to 84.3 billion rupees and profit after tax increased 0.5% year on year. The comparison shows that revenue growth continued in the second quarter, while the change in profit after tax shifted from an increase in the first quarter to a decline in the following quarter. Indus Towers builds, owns and manages telecom towers and structures for mobile operators in India, and says its portfolio covers all 22 Indian telecom circles.
The company's expansion of telecom infrastructure comes against a backdrop of rising 5G use in India. On its first-quarter call, management said subscriptions increased by 36 million during the fourth quarter of FY2026, taking the total above 427 million subscriptions. The company said at the time that network deployment and expansion were supporting demand for infrastructure. It also said it held operating licences and regulatory approvals in Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia, with launches expected to begin in the following quarter and expand gradually. In its second-quarter results statement, it said initial launches in Africa were on track and momentum was expected to build in the second half of the year. These steps provide context for the expansion plans presented by management, while the results did not give a figure for those markets' contribution to quarterly revenue.
Indus Towers shares closed down 0.95% at 385.30 rupees in the October 27 session, according to NDTV Profit. The report noted that the company announced results after the market closed, meaning the share price move recorded in that session preceded the results. The session's figures therefore do not establish that the decline was a response to the financial performance disclosed later. The company scheduled a call to discuss its second-quarter results for October 28, 2026, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. India time. It said senior management would present the performance and answer participants' questions.