NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel has reported a 41 percent decline in its consolidated net income at Rs 1,303.3 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. This is mainly on account of huge rebranding cost and forex losses.
Bharti Airtel, which is country's largest telecom operator in terms of subscriber base, had reported a net income of Rs 2,194.9 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
Adverse currency movements in India and Africa resulting in restatement losses of Rs 151 crore and the one-time rebranding costs of Rs 340 crore are the main factors that dragged the net income down, Bharti Group CFO Manik Jhangiani told reporters here.
"The impact of the additional spectrum charge (Rs 80 crore) as well as the higher interest outgo (Rs 471 crore) related to the acquisition on year-on-year basis (if not factored in, then) it is a flat performance in net income...," he said.
Total revenue for the reported quarter, however, rose by 51.14 per cent to Rs 15,756 crore from Rs 10,305.3 crore recorded in the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
Bharti Airtel has re-paid $415 million of its net debt in the third quarter, a major portion of which was towards the repayment of loans for 3G and BWA license.
"Revenue from African operations rose 8.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $911 million. We have completed the integration of Zain acquisition," Bharti airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor said.
Bharti Airtel had acquired Kuwait-based Zain Telecom's African business for $10.7 billion (about Rs 48,000 crore).
The company's telecom subscriber base stood at 199.1 million at the end of December 31, 2010, of which 42.1 million users were in Africa.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose 2.07 percent and was trading at Rs 321.10 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1221 hours.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter stood at Rs 198 from Rs 202 in Q2 FY'11.
The company also registered a higher monthly churn (subscribers leaving and joining the network) rate of 7.8 percent during the quarter.
Asked if the churn rate could go up further with the launch of mobile number portability (MNP), Kapoor said, "With what we have seen in Haryana, the number of people going in for MNP is dismal. So, I don't think it will make or break churn."
MNP allows subscribers to switch operators, while retaining their mobile number.
On 3G, airtel said it will roll out the service across the 13 circles where it holds license by March 31, 2011.
