Bharti Infratel Q2 net profit falls 17% to Rs 638 crore

Tower infrastructure company Bharti Infratel today reported a 17.57 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to about Rs 638 crore for the second quarter ended September 30.
The net profit stood at about Rs 774 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
The revenue during July-September quarter jumped nearly 11 per cent to Rs 3,648 crore from Rs 3,292 crore in the year- ago period, according to a company statement.
Bharti Infratel Chairman Akhil Gupta said the company and Indus Towers (where Bharti Infratel owns 42 per cent stake) are "well positioned" to grab their fair share of market and "create sustainable value for all stakeholders".

"Indian telecom has embraced the data centric model and is emerging as the showcase of digital technology with operators rolling out 4G networks and India planning a leadership role on upcoming 5G technology and associated applications," Gupta said in the statement.
At the same time, leading operators have outlined plans to infuse more investments in strengthening the digital infrastructure at the recently-concluded India Mobile Congress, he pointed out.

"The Government of Indias Smart Cities program presents additional opportunity to create infrastructure for sharing on a non-discriminatory basis. All of this is good for the sector at large," Gupta added.
In a separate filing, the company said its board of directors at a meeting today have also "decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers...".

This is being done with the aim "of making it a subsidiary or a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel Ltd", it said but did not provide additional details.
Indus Towers a joint venture between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, has portfolio of around 1.23 lakh mobile towers across the country.