About a year into his stint as CEO, Vittal is happy with the way the company has been performing. Profits are growing, with the company focused on five areas: raising voice realisations ; premium data services; increasing the higher revenue generating subscriber base; cost controls at all levels; and employees. In the recent auction, the company retained bandwidth in Delhi and Kolkata where its licences were expiring, won key airwaves in Mumbai and announced the acquisition of Loop Mobile to emerge as a strong No 2 in the financial capital, and is also in a position to offer pan-India 4G services.
"We have national footprint. In Mumbai, we felt there was an opportunity , we went for it," he said. "We have a job to do, that's in our core business, and that's where our focus is." Bharti's push is now on execution and simplification, besides improving "weak" operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It's not looking at any more acquisitions in India. "For me, personally, it's been a terrific 13 months. Lots of work to be done, but some good work has happened," Vittal said. "It is profoundly meaningful to transform the lives of people through this mobile device."
He relates a personal anecdote to illustrate how critical the device has become. "I mean I had a problem yesterday. Somebody bumped into me, and my device fell out of my hand and broke. I felt naked." Apart from a broken phone, he's had a hectic three days at MWC, rushing in and out of meetings, which is why he's looking a little tired and dishevelled.
But that hasn't dimmed his enthusiasm for the sector or his readiness to face challenges. With cash-rich Reliance Jio Infocomm likely to hit the market with its voice and data services later this year, Vittal will have a hard battle on his hands. But competition doesn't faze Bharti, he said.
"Reliance is a deeply-respected company, they have deep pockets. We have, however, grown and thrived in an industry and are children of competition. We have operated in a brutally competitive market. And we have gotten better," he said.
He added that even now, smaller operators offer 50% lower prices than Airtel, but that didn't stop the company from raising effective call rates in some circles by about 33% on Wednesday. And there is more room to reduce discounted offers, which will raise voice realisations even higher.
The unassuming 48-year-old alumnus of IIM-Kolkata has slipped into his role with ease, having moved back to Bharti after a stint at Hindustan Unilever."In many ways, I see some similarities of the old HLL (Hindustan Lever, as it used to be called) in Airtel.
It is as professional as Unilever, with one difference — it is quicker and faster in decision-making. I enjoy the space and speed in which decisions can be made, the empowerment," Vittal said.
He has sought to maintain this nimbleness, empowering circle CEOs, with headquarters in Delhi providing a support function. "We have got 13 circle CEOs. They are the heartbeat of the company, they make things happen. They get support from a central team which does designs around innovation."
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