Bharti Airtel Q1 net down 28% to Rs 1,215 cr

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said its net profit dipped nearly 28% to Rs 1,215 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

Net profit stood at Rs 1,682 crore in the same period last fiscal, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Total sales were, however, up by over 38% to Rs 16,983 crore in the reporting quarter, as against Rs 12,286 crore in Q1FY10.

"Bharti Airtel has started this fiscal year on a stable note. Revenue growth has been steady across all geographies, with Africa recording a healthy sequential growth of approximately 6% and annual growth of 21%," Bharti Airtel Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

In India, the company's efforts in the area of cost efficiencies have helped arrest the margin decline, he added.

Shares of Bharti Airtel were trading at Rs 415 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange at about 1300 hours, down by 3.95% from their previous close.

Income before taxes dropped to Rs 1,719 crore in Q1, FY12 from Rs 2,072 crore in Q1, FY11, mainly on account of higher interest outgo (Rs 344 crore on the Africa acquisition) and 3G investments in India and 3G licence fee amortisation (Rs 159 crore).

Last year, Bharti Airtel acquired Zain Telecom's Africa operations for $10.7 billion to become the world's fifth largest mobile operator.

Also, the effective tax rate for Q1 increased to 30%, mainly due to a reduction in tax holiday benefits in India, which hurt net profit.

India and South Asia revenues were up by 12% year-on-year at Rs 12,631 crore, while Africa revenues stood at $979 million (up by 6% vis-a-vis Q4, FY11), the statement said.

"The new customer facing organisation in India will see more agile and responsive teams in action. This will also give a fillip to growth in value-added services, broadband, digital TV and Airtel money. Overall, 2011-12 promises to be an exciting year of transformation," Mittal said.

The company's overall customer base stood at 230.8 million across 19 countries.