Telecom gear maker HFCL's third quarter profit falls 5% to Rs 81 crore

Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL on Monday posted 4.7 per cent decline in consolidated profit to Rs 81.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021 mainly on account of hike in component prices, specially semiconductors.

The company had posted a profit after tax of Rs 85.11 crore in the same period a year ago.

Revenue declined 4.86 per cent during the quarter to Rs 1,215.21 crore compared to Rs 1,277.48 crore it posted in the same quarter of 2020-21.

"Although the demand in the economy is coming back gradually, we had a strong quarter with growth in revenues. The margins during the quarter got slightly impacted followed by increased logistic costs and increase in fiber and semiconductor prices," HFCL Managing Director Mahendra Nahata said in a statement.

The company during the quarter raised Rs 600 crore through qualified institutional placement to expand capacities and build network solution capabilities to tap the upcoming opportunities in the telecom and defence sectors.

"The company is also constantly working on expanding its global market access and appointed global leaders in US and Europe to boost its OFC and Telecommunication product sales," Nahata said.

He said the company's board has approved the plan for expansion of fiber manufacturing capacities from 1 crore fiber kilometer (fkm) per annum to 2.2 crore fkm and consolidated optical fiber cable (OFC) manufacturing capacities from 2.47 crore fkm per annum to 3.47 crore fkm per annum with an overall capital outlay of about Rs 425 crore.

"We remain optimistic about the outlook of the sector. The government's approval for our PLI scheme candidature will help us in improving our competitiveness, collaborate with new players and venture into new geographies," he added.