Airtel's far ahead of competition: Kohli

Notwithstanding concerns about falling minutes of usage and declining ARPUs, Bharti Airtel joint MD and CEOManoj Kohli describes FY09 as a ���great year for the company���. In an exclusive interview with ET NOW, Mr Kohli said the company remained streets ahead of competition in terms of ���revenue market share��� and was devising a strategy to increase the subscriber base of the company from 96 million subscribers to 200 million. He kept the suspense alive on Bharti���s quest for an overseas acquisition by saying ���when we are close to a decision, we will let you know.��� Excerpts:

Minutes of usage and average revenue per user have declined sharply this quarter. Do you expect this trend to continue?

We continue to take out free minutes as much as possible. Though in this quarter there were two days less vis-a- vis last quarter, the drop in MoU (Minutes of Usage) is just nine minutes. Our competition was offering free minutes, so there was some arbitrage. We are happy with the overall trend in MoU. Let���s not forget this year has been an outstanding one for the company. Profits have grown well, EBIDTA margins are also very healthy. We���ve rolled out DTH in India and launched operations in Sri Lanka... So it has been a great year for Airtel.

Bharti Airtel���s market share of net additions has fallen from about 26% to 18% this quarter. Does that bother you?

We are not concerned. This data reflect numbers not revenue. We are focused on revenue market share and we are far ahead of anyone else as far as revenue market share is concerned.

What has been the response to your DTH rollout?

We came in late to this market. But the customer feedback has been very positive. We believe our product is very good. And, yes, we will share data once we get meaningful numbers. That might take some time.

What about overseas acquisitions? Have you turned risk averse? Or is this just not a good time?

We will only acquire if there is a strategic fit and at the right price. If there is no strategic alignment and the price is too high it just doesn���t make sense.

Are you in talks with any specific company right now?

I can���t comment on it. When we are close to a decision we will let you know.

The recent management reshuffle happened in the backdrop of your selling shares in the company. How is the transition working and what will be your role in the company now?

The transition has been very smooth and seamless. We planned it carefully and proactively. My role now is to work on strategy; scaling up subscriber base to 200 million; building a leadership pipeline; getting into new projects; and working closely with the government. Sanjay (deputy CEO Sanjay Kapoor) is taking care of the B2C piece and he is a brilliant leader.

You spoke about the 200 million subscribers. When will you get to the 100 million mark and where���s the party?

(Laughs). It���s not far away. We will get there this quarter.