Bharti net dips 8% on rising competition

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India\'s top mobile operator, posted an 8% fall in quarterly profit to Rs 2,055 crore as fierce competition among 12-13 operators cut into earnings despite higher subscriber growth. During the period, total revenues grew 2% to touch Rs 10,056 crore. The company recorded the highest ever traffic on its network, up by 19.6 billion minutes or a 13% growth over the third quarter.



Underlying EBITDA margins declined by 2% on a year-on-year basis but continued to be robust at 39% as a result of concerted cost optimization initiatives. \"Bharti Airtel continues to be strongly positioned in India despite a hyper competitive market\", chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in a statement.



Last year, Bharti has accomplished a 41% ramp up of its customer base to 137.6 million across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Net income for the full year showed a 7% growth at Rs 9,103 crore. The consolidated total revenues for the full year ended March 31, 2010 grew 7.2% to Rs 39,615 crore and underlying EBITDA grew 6% to Rs 16,124 crore. It sustained its underlying EBITDA margin for the year at 40.7%, which is in line with the previous year\'s margin of 41%.



Domestic pressures are forcing Bharti to look for external growth markets. In March, Bharti signed a $10.7 billion deal to acquire the operations of Kuwait\'s Zain Telecom in 15 African countries, which will make Bharti the world\'s fifth-largest wireless company, serving 1.8 billion people. Bharti has secured financing for the Zain acquisition, but faces another huge bill for 3G spectrum and rollout.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com