Tulip Telecom to raise Rs 1k cr; Q1 net up 8.5%

Enterprise communications service provider Tulip Telecom today said it would raise Rs 1,000 crore through securities or bonds to fund expansion as well as acquisitions.

The board of directors have approved raising up to Rs 1,000 crore by way of issuance of equity, bonds or through qualified institutional placements (QIPs) in one or more tranches, Tulip Telecom CMD HS Bedi told PTI.

"The company has taken the blanket approval from the board members to raise the amount over a period of time, which will be used for long-term business expansion and for acquisitions," Bedi added.

He, however, declined to comment on specific details like time-frame for fund raising and acquisition targets.

The company has reported a growth of 8.5 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 64.15 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, over the same period last fiscal.

Total revenue of the company rose to Rs 525.17 crore for the April-June quarter, from Rs 442.92 crore in the same period last year, Tulip Telecom said.

"We have begun the year on a healthy note. The projects undertaken during the last eighteen months have started to yield benefits. Going forward, we expect this pace to continue, which gives us the confidence of delivering strong earnings performance in the future," Bedi said.

Earlier this month, the company had acquired 13 per cent stake in US-based mobile chip maker Qualcomm's broadband unit in India for $28.86 million.

"The company has already made the payment to the Qualcomm for the acquisition and the new fund raising plans does not include any payment made to them further," Bedi said.

Shares of Tulip Telecom today closed at Rs 181.95 on the BSE, up 0.22 per cent from the previous close.