Bharti Airtel to cut discounts on call rates

Bharti Airtel will cut discounts offered on call rates because of rising operational costs, Gopal Vittal, the company's managing director and chief executive officer (India and South Asia), said here Wednesday.

The company may also look at raising its headline tariff to offset rising input costs. "We will deter to touch headline tariff but at some point there may be some opportunity to raise headline tariffs," Vittal added.

He said the rising cost of diesel, the cost of fibre, the cost of spectrum, network cost, the cost of actual rolling out networks were adding to the total input cost of the company.

The company posted 89 percent jump in net profit in the fourth quarter (January-March) on voice and data business growth, a company statement said Tuesday.

The net profit for the fourth quarter stood at Rs.962 crore, up from Rs.509 crore posted during the corresponding period last fiscal (2012-13).

The total revenue of the company was up by 13.5 percent at Rs.22,219 crore during the fourth quarter from Rs.19,582 crore in the corresponding period in 2012-13.

"The year has ended on a satisfying note, both in operational and financial terms. Network and spectrum investments, a refreshed IT strategy, innovative service platforms and an energised organisation will enable sustained growth in India and South Asia," Vittal said.