On Bangla, Lanka assets, Airtel says weighing opportunities

Amid speculation that Bharti Airtel is looking to sell its operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the company today said it keeps evaluating various opportunities.

In a clarification to the BSE, Airtel said it keeps evaluating various opportunities on an ongoing basis in ordinary course of business and will make necessary disclosure as and when required.

The exchange has sought clarification from the company with respect to reports that Airtel is likely to sell its telecom portfolio in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as part of the strategy to move out of unproductive operations.

The reports said Airtel has also appointed two lead bankers for sale of telecom operations.

Airtel has about 2,500 telecom towers of Sri Lanka and 4,000 in Bangladesh.

Airtel's revenue from operations in South Asia, which includes Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, stood at Rs 3.8 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, a decrease of 11.1 per cent as compared to Rs 4.3 billion in the corresponding quarter last year, primarily due to lower minutes of usage.

EBITDA loss for the quarter was at Rs 476 million as compared to EBITDA of Rs 233 million in the corresponding quarter last year.