Bharti scrip drops in early trade after Q4 results

Shares of telecom operator Bharti airtel today fell by over 4% on the bourses in morning trade after the company reported a dip of 31.48% in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

The shares of the country's largest telecom player fell by 4.65% to touch an early low of Rs 352.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

In a similar fashion, the scrip slipped by 4.74% to touch a low of Rs 352.20 on the National Stock Exchange.

According to analysts the company's results are little lower than expectation.

"Bharti's result are little lower than expectation. The company's profits are also below estimate. But this would not impact the stock performance in today's session, which fell after the numbers were announced," SMC Capitals Strategist and Head of Research Jagannadham Thunuguntla said.

On the volume front, over 21 lakh shares of the company were traded on the two bourses within the first thirty minutes of trade.

Bharti airtel today posted lower-than-expected net income at Rs 1,400.7 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2011, down 31.48% as compared to the same period last year.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 2,044.4 crore for the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal.

For the full year, Bharti's net profit was down 32.64% at Rs 6,046.7 crore as compared to Rs 8,976.8 crore in FY'10.

Meanwhile, the BSE barometer Sensex was trading at 18,544.13, up by 74.77 points at 0954 hours.