Top telecommunications carrier, Bharti
Airtel Ltd, reported its 11th consecutive quarter of profit decline as
costs increased and intense competition pressured margins.
Bharti, controlled by billionaire Sunil
Mittal, said on Wednesday that consolidated net profit fell 29.8 percent
to 7.21 billion rupees ($132.5 million)for its fiscal second quarter ended September from 10.27 billion rupees a year earlier.
Revenue rose 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 202.7 billion rupees.
Analysts had expected net profit of 7.46 billion rupees on revenue of 196.02 billion rupees.
Bharti and its main rival, the local
unit of Vodafone , are set to benefit after a court revoked the permits
of several smaller rivals, which will cut the competition in a market
that once boasted more than a dozen players.
The leading carriers, however, face the
risk of paying out billions of dollars in regulatory fees over the next
few years with the government planning to impose a surcharge on airwaves
held by them and also reallocation, or switching, of their superior
quality spectrum when their permits are renewed.
Bharti's monthly average revenue per
user, a key metric for telecommunications carriers, fell 4 percent from
the previous quarter to 177 rupees for its Indian operations. In Africa,
ARPU fell 2 percent sequentially to $6.4.
Shares in Bharti, valued at about $19
billion, are down nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with an 22
percent rise in the benchmark index. The shares were trading up 0.5
percent on Wednesday.
Bharti in 2010 ventured into Africa at a
time when growth in its home market had started showing signs of
saturation. The company, which bought money-losing operations in 15
African countries for $9 billion, has yet to turn a profit there.
The company currently operates in 20
countries across Asia and Africa and is the world's fourth-biggest
mobile phone carrier by customers.
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