Indus Towers reported a strong Q3 performance ending December 31, 2025, marked by a healthy pickup in tenancy additions, particularly from a large customer, leading to 7.9% YoY revenue growth to INR 81.5 billion. The company continues to prioritize its four core pillars: market share, cost efficiency, network uptime, and sustainability. Significant strides were made in ESG, with 100% of e-waste recycled and a focus on transitioning to cleaner energy sources across 40,000 sites.
Q3 FY26 Business Performance Overview
Indus Towers detailed its performance for the third quarter ending December 31, 2025. MD & CEO, Mr. Prachur Sah, highlighted a healthy pickup in tenancy additions, driven by improved network investment activity among customers. The company emphasized its customer-centric approach, enabling it to capture a larger share of incremental rollouts. Field teams executed critical installations, including towers in Lakshadweep and at the Pangod Military Center.
Key Operational Metrics and Industry Trends
The company added 3,548 macro towers and 6,105 corresponding colocations during the quarter, translating to a year-on-year growth of 10.6% in the tower base. The total tower base reached approximately 259,600, with the tenancy ratio holding steady at 1.62x. With the industry total 5G base stations reaching close to 520,000, Indus Towers is positioned for the next stage of 5G advancement, expecting loading on towers to accelerate.
Financial Results: Revenues and Profitability
CFO Mr. Vikas Poddar reported that total revenues increased by 7.9% year-on-year to INR 81.5 billion. Core rental revenues grew 9.5% YoY to INR 52.7 billion. Reported EBITDA stood at INR 45.1 billion, a decline YoY due to the absence of significant write-backs seen in the comparable previous periods (INR 2.1 billion in Q2 FY26 and INR 30.2 billion in Q3 FY25). Adjusted for these one-offs, reported EBITDA grew 13.5% year-on-year. Free cash flow generation improved significantly to INR 7.9 billion, up from INR 3 billion in Q2.
Focus on Cost Efficiency and Energy Transition
Cost discipline remains a core agenda, driven by optimizing energy costs. The company added 4,000 sites with solar access this quarter, bringing the total to about 40,000 sites. This focus helped reduce diesel consumption by 4% year-on-year in Q3 FY26, despite increased site loading. Network uptime was maintained at 99.976%.
Digital Transformation and ESG Progress
Digital adoption is central to operations, with sites increasingly equipped with IoT connectivity, fuel sensors, and smart meters to create an integrated digital stack for real-time asset visibility. On the ESG front, gender diversity improved to 16.6%. Through 1t.org partnership, 260,000 saplings were planted this financial year, and 100% of e-waste from battery disposal is recycled. Sustainalytics rating improved from 18.1 to 17.8.
Strategic Update: Africa Expansion
The focus for Africa remains on greenfield (organic) expansion across three initial countries, with the company currently in the foundational assessment stage. The strategy emphasizes building a competitive portfolio based on cost efficiency derived from Indian operational learnings. Mr. Prachur Sah reiterated that Africa is a long-term growth decision.
Q&A Insights: Capex and Customer Outlook
Management addressed questions on sustainability of revenue growth, confirming strong order books support continued tenancy additions, though they avoided specific forward-looking guidance. Regarding capex, while it remains elevated due to current growth requirements (including solar/battery upgrades), management expects it to ease out in a 2- to 3-year view. Regarding customer dues, it was confirmed that there are no current overdues left from Vodafone Idea.
Source: BSE
