Tata Communications Q3 PAT sees 5-fold jump at Rs 309.41 cr on lower costs

Digital technology firm Tata Communications posted over a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 309.41 crore for the December 2020 quarter.

The company had registered a profit of Rs 58.85 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

Its income from operations was almost flat at Rs 4,222.83 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 4,228.27 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.

In a statement, Tata Communications said the consolidated PAT (Profit after tax) had grown 428 per cent y-o-y (Year-over-year) to Rs 309 crore (USD 42 million).

Growth in data business income compensated for the decrease in the voice business, it added.

The company said it had seen stable growth in data business despite it being a seasonally slow quarter with revenue growing 3.8 per cent y-o-y on the back of robust performance in traditional services.

"We are witnessing strong demand from the OTT (Over the top) and Enterprise segment for our services...Growth services continue to scale and witness profitable growth," it added.

Voice solutions contributed Rs 674.26 crore to the income from operations, data and managed services Rs 3,449.19 crore, payment solutions Rs 59.14 crore and real estate Rs 44.19 crore during the December 2020 quarter.

"Our disciplined execution has helped us deliver good results in a seasonally weak quarter. Our Secure Connected Digital Experience (SCDx) offering continues to be relevant as we reimagine the New World for our customers," Tata Communications MD and CEO AS Lakshminarayanan said.

Simultaneously, the company's investments in products and services are positioning it well in customers' digital transformation journeys, an example being the investment in Oasis, he added.

Last month, Tata Communications announced the acquisition of 58.1 per cent stake in France-based Oasis Smart SIM Europe SAS (Oasis). Oasis develops and provides advanced technologies and personalised services to enable deployment of eSIM and SIM technologies.

"We continue to deliver on our goal of profitable growth. Both profitability and cash flow generation has improved significantly in the last few quarters on the back of cost efficiencies and improved business processes. This agility has given us headroom to compete more effectively in the market and cater to our customer's changing needs," Tata Communications Chief Financial Officer Kabir Ahmed Shakir said.

The focus continues to remain on generating a healthy order book coupled with strong execution to drive growth, he added.