Subscriber base growth lifts RCom net 48.5%

CORPORATE SCORECARD

Reliance Communications, India's No.2 mobile phone company in terms of market cap, today announced a better-than-expected 48.5 per cent increase in quarterly consolidated net profit at Rs 1,372.83 crore, on the strength of healthy subscriber additions in the December quarter.

This compares with Rs 924.45 crore net profit in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Analysts had expected a net profit growth of 42 per cent, similar to that of Bharti Airtel, the country's largest mobile operator posted (Rs 1,722 crore) earlier this week.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company earned a total income of Rs 4,874.20 crore during the period, a 29.8 per cent growth over the Rs 3,755.30 crore in the previous corresponding period.

On a standalone basis, net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 actually fell 43 per cent to Rs 436.48 crore, from the Rs 771.04 crore in the year-ago period. Total income was up 12 per cent to Rs 3,410.82 crore, against Rs 3,044.49 crore in the quarter a year ago.

Anil Ambani, chairman, told an analysts' conference that the company registered 4.6 million users during October-December 2007, as compared with about 4 million in the previous corresponding period. At the close of the quarter, RCom had 41 million wireless customers, Ambani said.

During the quarter, the company's ARPU declined to Rs 339, while wireless revenue per minute (RPM) remained stable at 75 paise. The ARPUs and RPMs in the industry have been declining for some time. RCom President Wireless S P Shukla said wireless business revenues rose by 43.8 per cent to Rs 3,957 crore during the quarter, from Rs 2,752 crore last year.

EBITDA grew by 53.7 per cent to Rs 1,582 crore (Rs 1,029 crore). EBITDA margins expanded to 40 per cent from 37.4 per cent, helped by an expansion in the wireless business that contributes 80 per cent of revenues.

Analysts tracking the sector said, even as the company maintained good growth during the quarter, the fall in ARPUs and EBITDA margins was cause of concern.