Bharti Q2 net profits dip sharply to Rs 512 crores

Business

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Updated: Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 11:04 [IST]

India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported a drop in net profits to Rs 512 crores for the quarter ending Sept 30, 2013 from Rs 721 crores in the corresponding period of last year, due to forex losses.

The consolidated revenues for Q2‟14 at Rs 21,324 crore grew by 10% over the corresponding quarter last year. Mobile internet revenues at Rs 1,503 crore grew more than 100% Y-o-Y, accounting for 39.1% of the overall incremental revenue. Revenues were also enhanced by strong growths of 28.8% in Digital TV, 20.8% in „airtel business‟ (B2B), and 54.4% in South Asia.

International revenues grew by 17.9% Y-o-Y and 18.3% Q-o-Q in INR terms with Africa growing by 16.1% Y-o-Y & 18.5% Q-o-Q while South Asia grew by 54.4% Y-o-Y & 16.0% Q-o-Q. Africa revenue in constant USD terms grew by 5.4% on sequential quarter basis led by a strong 28.2% increase in Data revenues.

Mobile voice pricing in Africa remained stable at 3.30 cents per minute. Net Revenue in Africa (after interconnect costs and cost of goods sold) has grown by 20.7% Y-o-Y in INR terms.

"The continued depreciation of the Indian Rupee has resulted in forex restatement and derivative losses of Rs 342 crore (vs. Rs 25 crore loss for Q2‟13). Consequently, the consolidated net income came in at Rs 512 crore, as against Rs 721 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated Operating Free Cash Flows for the quarter were at Rs 4,693 crore, reflecting a robust growth of 117.1% Y-o-Y," the company said in a statement.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel Limited, said,"Mobile internet is now a major engine of growth for Airtel across all geographies. Our sustained investment in this segment will further enhance customer experience and seamless coverage. The revenue growth in Africa reflects the inherent potential in the world‟s most promising continent. I am also pleased to see the evolution of Airtel Money into a significant service in geographies which are relatively under-banked."

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