Bharti Airtel, based in India exceeded revenue expectations for the quarter primarily due, to the growth of 4G subscribers.

BENGALURU, August 3 (Reuters). Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) the telecom provider, in India in terms of users reported higher than expected growth in quarterly revenue on Thursday. This was attributed to the increase in subscribers opting for their premium 4G services and the implementation of tariff adjustments in their plans.

Airtel along with market leader Reliance Jio and other telecom companies has a strategy of migrating customers from 2G to 4G and subsequently to 5G. Their aim is to expand their user base while also raising tariffs that have remained stagnant for a time.

During the months of April to June Airtel successfully added 5.6 million 4G subscribers bringing their count to 229.7 million customers. This represents a growth of 2.5% compared to the period from January to March. These new subscribers now account for 70.4% of Airtels customer base, which is an increase from 65.2% recorded a year ago.

The companys average revenue per user (ARPU) a metric for telecom operators experienced an increase of around 9% year on year. Reached Rs.200. This growth was primarily driven by the addition of customers opting for the companys 4G services as well, as tariff adjustments implemented earlier this year on their basic plans. In comparison Jios ARPU stood at Rs.180.5.

In the quarter Airtels overall revenue recorded a 14.1% increase reaching 374.40 billion rupees ($4.53 billion) surpassing analysts expectations of 366.24 billion rupees as reported by Refinitiv IBES.

However the companys net profit remained unchanged at 16.13 billion rupees to a one time charge of 34.16 billion rupees resulting from the devaluation of the currency.

Nigeria holds importance as a market, for mobile services, in Africa and contributes around 30% to Airtels total revenue.

Month, Reliance Jio, the telecommunications branch of the conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS) experienced its growth, in revenue and profit in the past six quarters due to stagnant tariffs.

Indian telecommunication companies have made investments in acquiring 5G spectrums and implementing services nationwide.

This week Airtel announced that it has paid 80.24 billion rupees in advance to the government as a partial settlement for deferred liabilities related to airwaves acquired in 2015.

Airtel shares, which have seen an 8% increase this year closed 0.7% lower prior to the release of these results. (Conversion rate; $1 = 82.6960 rupees)

Reported by Nishit Navin, in Bengaluru; Edited by Janane Venkatraman and Savio D'Souza