NEW DELHI: India’s top mobile phone firm, Bharti Airtel, reported quarterly profit soared 89 percent from a year earlier, helped by an easing of cutthroat competition as rivals fell by the wayside.
But the company’s African operations, purchased as part of Bharti’s bold move four years ago to increase its global footprint, racked up more losses.
Bharti, the fourth-largest cellular firm globally by subscribers, said in a statement consolidated net profit for the fourth financial quarter to March climbed to Rs9.6bn ($159m) on revenue that jumped 13.5 percent to Rs222.2bn.
“The year has ended on a satisfying note,” Bharti India and South Asia managing director Gopal Vittal said, adding network, spectrum and IT investment “will enable sustained growth” in the region. The profit increase broadly matched market estimates and marked a second straight quarter of earnings growth after Bharti clocked nearly four consecutive years of decline.
The company, controlled by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal and one-third owned by Singapore Telecommunications, operates in 20 countries. Fierce tariff competition had pushed Indian call rates down to among the world’s lowest. But a 2012 court ruling scrapping licences of some smaller firms over a scandal-tainted spectrum sale, reduced congestion and gave firms scope to raise call prices.
The number of telecoms players has fallen with just three firms — Bharti, Vodafone and Idea Cellular — accounting for nearly three-quarters of revenues and both Bharti and Vodafone bought more wireless spectrum in February to expand service. AFP
