Bharti Airtel Ltd.
NSE: BHARTIARTL
Communication Services · Telecom Services
₹1,905.00 last close on 16 Oct 2026 +2.75%
Research updated
Indus Towers Ltd.
NSE: INDUSTOWERCommunication ServicesTelecom Services
- Last close
- ₹383.30
- Day change
- +₹1.70 (+0.45%)vs
- Market cap
- ₹99,067 crIndian rupees
- Research updated
- 1 report
About Indus Towers
Indus Towers Ltd. is a leading provider of telecommunications infrastructure services in Asia. Primarily focusing on tower construction, maintenance, and operation, Indus Towers plays a critical role in facilitating mobile network connectivity across diverse geographical regions. The company thrives on supporting telecommunication businesses by offering scalable infrastructure solutions that promote seamless network coverage and improved service quality. As a key player in the telecom domain, Indus Towers significantly impacts sectors such as mobile communications, internet service providers, and broadcasting, enabling high-speed, reliable connectivity crucial for digital growth. With a vast portfolio of towers spread across urban and rural areas, the company helps bridge the digital divide by ensuring consistent coverage in under-represented areas. Indus Towers' commitment to sustainability and innovation in infrastructure development enhances its market significance, contributing to the robust expansion and resilience of the telecom sector. It provides essential support for mobile operators, ensuring the backbone for the digital communication ecosystem remains strong and adaptable to evolving technological advancements.
- Sector
- Communication Services
- Industry
- Telecom Services
- Listing
- NSE: INDUSTOWER
- Chief executive
- Mr. Prachur Sah
- Employees
- 3,783
- Headquarters
- Gurugram, India
- ISIN
- INE121J01017
- Website
- industowers.com
Public research · Report of
Business model & financial foundation
Indus Towers (NSE: INDUSTOWER), Passive telecom infrastructure: revenue of ₹32,493 crore in FY26 (+7.9% on FY25), an EBITDA margin of 55.3%, net profit of ₹7,145 crore and net debt of ₹15,274 crore.
- Revenue, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 32,493
- consolidated
- Revenue growth, FY26
- +7.9%
- on FY25
- EBITDA margin, FY26
- 55.3%
- EBITDA (company definition, excl. other income) / revenue
- Net profit, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 7,145
- to owners
- Return on equity, FY26
- 19.8%
- on average equity
- Net debt, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 15,274
- Net debt incl. lease liabilities (company definition)
- Market capitalisation (₹ crore)
- 99,594
- at the close of 13 Oct 2026
Company profile
Indus leases passive tower space and related infrastructure to mobile network operators and recovers energy costs. Co-location additions generate greater incremental returns than new single-tenant towers. Bharti Airtel is both controlling shareholder and anchor customer, while Vodafone Idea's funding and payment performance materially affect incremental tenancies and collections. New Africa operations introduce execution and currency risk.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Indus Towers Limited (formerly Bharti Infratel Limited) |
| Exchange and ticker | NSE: INDUSTOWER; BSE: 534816 |
| ISIN | INE121J01017 |
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Passive telecom infrastructure |
| Headquarters | Gurugram, India |
| Fiscal year end | March |
| Reporting basis and unit | consolidated, in ₹ crore |
| Auditor | Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP |
| Market capitalisation | ₹99,594 crore (13 Oct 2026) |
| Shares outstanding | 263.72 crore shares (FY26) |
| Price | ₹380.9 (close, 13 Oct 2026) |
| 52-week range | ₹337.8 - ₹481.5 (to 13 Oct 2026) |
| Website | https://www.industowers.com |
Corporate structure and shareholding
Parent: Bharti Airtel Limited.
| Entity | Holding | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Smartx Services Limited | 100% | Telecom infrastructure services |
| Indus Towers FZE | 100% | Overseas holding and tower expansion |
| Indus Towers Nigeria Limited | 100% | Nigeria tower rollout |
| Indus Tower Infra Zambia Limited | 100% | Zambia tower rollout |
| Indus Infra Uganda Limited | 100% | Uganda tower rollout |
FY26 annual report states no subsidiary is material under Listing Regulations. Additional UAE investment, ventures and management subsidiaries wholly owned.
| Shareholding (% of shares) | Q2FY26 | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promoter | 51.03% | 51.03% | 51.26% | 51.26% |
| Promoter holding pledged | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Foreign institutions | 26.21% | 25.92% | 25.10% | 23.20% |
| Domestic institutions | 18.24% | 18.95% | 19.68% | 21.45% |
| of which mutual funds | 13.80% | 14.03% | 14.08% | 16.22% |
| Retail | 4.52% | 4.09% | 3.98% | 4.09% |
The promoter holding pledged is a share of the promoter's own holding.
Business model
Passive telecom sites earn sharing rent and loading/service revenue, with energy reimbursements broadly recovering grid/diesel expense. Additional sharing operators on an existing tower improve returns more than single-tenancy greenfield build. Indus is consolidated, including new wholly owned African operations; India-only summary tables exclude overseas losses and must not replace group earnings. Bharti Airtel controls51.26% and is anchor customer; Vodafone no longer holds shares but Vi remains a concentrated credit exposure. Issuer EBITDA excludes other income, finance income and charity below the EBITDA bridge.
| Peer | Why the dossier compares them |
|---|---|
| Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust | |
| Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) | Anchor customer and promoter; integrated telecom economics not pure tower comparable |
| Vodafone Idea (IDEA) | |
| Tata Communications (TATACOMM) | |
| RailTel Corporation (RAILTEL) | Listed network infrastructure context, different project mix |
Financial databook
| Profit and loss (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 27,717 | 28,382 | 28,601 | 30,123 | 32,493 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 10,266 | 10,591 | 11,150 | 11,449 | 12,005 |
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | 1,869 | 7,250 | 1,975 | -2,815 | 1,634 |
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 15,359 | 10,096 | 15,810 | 21,414 | 18,206 |
| EBIT * | 10,034 | 4,429 | 9,934 | 15,012 | 11,461 |
| Finance costs (gross, incl. interest on lease liabilities) | 1,603 | 1,670 | 1,864 | 1,858 | 1,893 |
| Profit before tax | 8,431 | 2,759 | 8,122 | 13,154 | 9,598 |
| Tax expense | 2,058 | 719.3 | 2,086 | 3,222 | 2,453 |
| Profit for the year | 6,373 | 2,040 | 6,036 | 9,932 | 7,145 |
| Diluted EPS (₹) | 23.65 | 7.57 | 22.40 | 37.31 | 27.09 |
| Power and fuel | 11,150 | 11,445 | 11,996 | ||
| Employee benefit expenses | 782.3 | 841.4 | 878.2 | ||
| Other opex: R&M + materials + other exp (incl. doubtful-debt allowance) | 1,975 | -3,008 | 1,644 | ||
| Repairs and maintenance (memo; within other_expenses) | 1,399 | 1,441 | 1,467 | ||
| Allowance for doubtful receivables (net); negative = write-back | -76.7 | -5,087 | n.r. | ||
| EBITDA (company definition, excl. other income) | 14,694 | 20,845 | 17,976 | ||
| Other income | 361.1 | 345.8 | 477.0 | ||
| Finance income | 1,128 | 417.9 | 341.4 | ||
| Charity and donation | 137.3 | 194.7 | 162.4 | ||
| Depreciation and amortisation incl. ROU, net of scheme adj. | 6,060 | 6,402 | 7,141 | ||
| Exceptional items | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Profit attributable to owners (no minorities) | 6,036 | 9,932 | 7,145 |
| Balance sheet (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total equity * | 22,151 | 21,110 | 27,039 | 32,498 | 39,646 |
| Borrowings excl. lease liabilities (current + non-current) | 19,726 | 19,185 | 4,312 | 2,262 | 920.9 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 980.2 | 22.4 | 63.1 | 149.7 | 47.3 |
| Trade receivables (net) | 7,059 | 4,869 | 6,451 | 4,768 | 4,939 |
| Inventories * | 7.60 | 26.8 | |||
| Trade payables * | 2,129 | 2,122 | 2,280 | 2,445 | 2,672 |
| Net property, plant and equipment * | 10,921 | 11,188 | 12,638 | 14,934 | 16,233 |
| Capital work in progress * | 178.7 | 366.8 | 440.8 | 576.9 | 649.1 |
| Total assets * | 47,968 | 46,572 | 55,868 | 63,170 | 71,316 |
| Lease liabilities (current + non-current) | 16,219 | 18,893 | 20,206 | ||
| Current investments | 0.00 | 1,486 | 4,305 | ||
| Other bank balances | 1,706 | 1,505 | |||
| Net debt incl. lease liabilities (company definition) | 20,468 | 18,020 | 15,274 | ||
| Net debt / (net cash) excl. lease liabilities (company definition) | 4,249 | -873.4 | -4,932 |
| Cash flow (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from operating activities | 7,096 | -208.7 | 11,582 | 19,645 | 15,684 |
| Free cash flow (vendor definition) * | 5,836 | 4,282 | 2,629 | 12,861 | 7,058 |
| Purchase of PPE, intangibles and CWIP (cash flow; negative = outflow) | -2,870 | -3,168 | -8,953 | -6,784 | -8,626 |
| Dividends paid | -2,964 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Capex (company-reported KPI, accrual; positive) | 9,698 | 6,870 | 8,817 | ||
| Payment for buyback of equity shares | 0.00 | 2,640 | 0.00 | ||
| Repayment of principal portion of lease liabilities | 2,151 | 2,513 |
| Other reported lines (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shares outstanding * | 269.48 | 269.45 | 269.43 | 266.19 | 263.72 |
| Quarterly profit and loss (₹ crore) | Q2FY25 | Q3FY25 | Q4FY25 | Q1FY26 | Q2FY26 | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 7,465 | 7,547 | 7,727 | 8,058 | 8,188 | 8,146 | 8,101 | 8,431 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 2,893 | 2,825 | 2,830 | 3,070 | 2,954 | 2,893 | 3,198 | |
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | -541.6 | -2,492 | 281.2 | 384.1 | 454.4 | 513.1 | 497.3 | |
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 5,022 | 7,249 | 4,535 | 4,513 | 4,705 | 4,672 | 4,727 | |
| EBIT * | 3,442 | 5,680 | 2,842 | 2,809 | 2,907 | 2,834 | 2,833 | |
| Finance costs (gross, incl. interest on lease liabilities) | 461.4 | 461.6 | 479.1 | 474.7 | 462.4 | 487.0 | 468.9 | 485.5 |
| Profit before tax | 2,980 | 5,219 | 2,363 | 2,334 | 2,478 | 2,420 | 2,365 | 2,347 |
| Tax expense (current + deferred) | 756.6 | 1,216 | 583.9 | 597.0 | 639.1 | 644.4 | 572.4 | 601.6 |
| Profit for the period | 2,224 | 4,003 | 1,779 | 1,737 | 1,839 | 1,776 | 1,793 | 1,746 |
| Diluted EPS (₹) | 8.30 | 15.17 | 6.75 | 6.58 | 6.97 | 6.73 | 6.80 | 6.62 |
| Power and fuel | 2,893 | 2,825 | 2,827 | 3,069 | 3,087 | 2,952 | 2,888 | 3,195 |
| Employee benefit expenses | 207.3 | 216.7 | 220.3 | 213.3 | 205.1 | 229.1 | 230.7 | 215.1 |
| Other opex: R&M + materials + other exp (incl. doubtful-debt allowance) | -541.6 | -2,492 | 285.0 | 385.5 | 283.5 | 457.0 | 517.7 | 499.9 |
| EBITDA (company definition, excl. other income) | 4,907 | 6,997 | 4,395 | 4,390 | 4,613 | 4,509 | 4,464 | 4,521 |
| Other income | 113.9 | 83.8 | 91.7 | 85.1 | 82.9 | 153.8 | 155.2 | 121.2 |
| Finance income | 43.9 | 207.0 | 119.4 | 78.2 | 86.6 | 83.5 | 93.1 | 127.2 |
| Charity and donation | 43.3 | 39.0 | 71.2 | 40.6 | 40.6 | 40.6 | 40.6 | 42.7 |
| Depreciation and amortisation incl. ROU, net of scheme adj. | 1,580 | 1,569 | 1,693 | 1,704 | 1,801 | 1,798 | 1,838 | 1,894 |
| Profit attributable to owners (no minorities) | 2,224 | 4,003 | 1,779 | 1,737 | 1,839 | 1,776 | 1,793 | 1,746 |
| Repairs and maintenance (memo; within other_expenses) | 383.2 | 361.2 | 337.4 | 369.7 | 376.5 | 350.7 | 370.2 | 371.4 |
| Exceptional items | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Allowance for doubtful receivables (net); negative = write-back | -1,077 | -3,024 | -226.4 | -88.0 | -195.0 | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. |
| Sharing (rental/service) revenue | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 5,107 | 5,242 | 5,274 | 5,306 | 5,372 |
| Energy reimbursements | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | 2,947 | 2,945 | 2,869 | 2,788 | 3,054 |
Consolidated, as reported. Lines marked * are the market-data provider's figures; the rest are extracted from the company's filings or derived from them. n.d. not disclosed, n.r. not retrieved, n.a. not applicable.
Metrics dashboard
| Metric | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 98.6% | 2.4% | 0.8% | 5.3% | 7.9% |
| EBITDA margin | 51.4% | 69.2% | 55.3% | ||
| Net margin | 21.1% | 33.0% | 22.0% | ||
| Return on equity | 25.1% | 33.4% | 19.8% | ||
| Return on capital employed | 25.3% | 10.8% | 27.7% | 45.4% | 30.4% |
| Return on assets | 11.8% | 16.7% | 10.6% | ||
| Net debt (₹ crore) | 20,468 | 18,020 | 15,274 | ||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.39x | 0.86x | 0.85x | ||
| Interest cover | 6.26x | 2.65x | 5.33x | 8.08x | 6.05x |
| Asset turnover | 0.60x | 0.60x | 0.56x | 0.51x | 0.48x |
| Receivable days | 93 | 63 | 82 | 58 | 55 |
| Inventory days (on revenue) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Payable days (on revenue) | 28 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Cash conversion | 1.92x | 1.98x | 2.20x | ||
| Capex intensity | 10.4% | 11.2% | 31.3% | 22.5% | 26.5% |
| Free cash flow (₹ crore) | 4,226 | -3,377 | 2,629 | 12,861 | 7,058 |
| Dividend payout | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | ||
| EPS, diluted (₹) | 23.65 | 7.57 | 22.40 | 37.31 | 27.09 |
| Book value per share (₹) | 82.20 | 78.34 | 100.4 | 122.1 | 150.3 |
Computed from the statements above:
- Revenue growth: revenue over the previous year's, less one.
- EBITDA margin: EBITDA (company definition, excl. other income) / revenue.
- Net margin: net profit to owners / revenue.
- Return on equity: net profit to owners / average equity.
- Return on capital employed: EBIT / average equity plus borrowings.
- Return on assets: net profit to owners / average total assets.
- Net debt (₹ crore): Net debt incl. lease liabilities (company definition); negative is net cash.
- Net debt / EBITDA: net debt / EBITDA (company definition, excl. other income).
- Interest cover: EBIT / finance cost.
- Asset turnover: revenue / average total assets.
- Receivable days: receivables / revenue x 365.
- Inventory days (on revenue): inventory / revenue x 365.
- Payable days (on revenue): payables / revenue x 365.
- Cash conversion: cash from operations / net profit to owners.
- Capex intensity: capital expenditure / revenue.
- Free cash flow (₹ crore): cash from operations less capital expenditure.
- Dividend payout: dividends paid / net profit to owners.
- EPS, diluted (₹): as reported (Diluted EPS).
- Book value per share (₹): equity / shares outstanding.
Source: the company's filings and disclosures as extracted into Mool's company dossier (version 1, information to 13 Oct 2026); market data at the close of 13 Oct 2026. Every figure is read from the dossier's files or computed from them; the account of the business model is the analyst's, from the dossier's workings.
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The model behind the report: the company’s history, the drivers that move it, its forecasts by scenario and the valuation the 12-month target comes from.
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Report history
Reports on Indus Towers
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Prices are the last close on the NSE, 16 Oct 2026. Research from Mool’s report of 13 Oct 2026; page updated 17 Oct 2026.
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