Bharti Infratel Q4 net profit rises 2 pc to Rs 606 cr

Mobile tower firm Bharti Infratel today posted a 2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 606 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2018, impacted by some telecom operators closing or merging their businesses.

The company's net profit for the January-March period of the previous 2016-17 fiscal stood at Rs 597 crore.

The revenue of the company for the fourth quarter of 2017-18 was Rs 3,662 crore, 4 per cent higher over the year-ago period.

"The year gone by saw unprecedented consolidation in the Indian telecom industry with five operators ceasing to exist either on account of mergers or outright shut down of operations," Akhil Gupta, chairman, Bharti Infratel Limited, said in a statement.

He added that the company saw a loss of 22,134 co-locations on this account during the year.

"...despite this, the overall performance for the year versus last year has been robust...We believe that with rapidly growing data demand which would require large network rollouts, we are poised for a strong potential in the coming years," he pointed out.

Gupta added that the company is "fully prepared to exploit" the market demand and will move full stream ahead to meet requirements of customers for speedy rollouts.

The statement further said the consolidation in the telecom services industry had resulted in "lower growth rates on a year-on-year basis" on parameters like revenue, operating profit and operating free cash flow during the said quarter for the company.

For the full year, the company's net profit fell 9 per cent to Rs 2,494 crore, while the revenue was up 8 per cent to Rs 14,490 crore over the previous financial year.

The Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) at Rs 6,427 crore for the full year ended March 2018 was up 8 per cent over previous year. EBITDA is a measure of a company's operational performance.

The total tower base stood at 91,451 during the just ended quarter, compared to 91,007 in the December 2017 quarter.

The consolidated results include the financials of the company and proportionate share of 42 per cent in Indus Towers.

Bharti Infratel also said its board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 14 per equity share for the year ended March 2018.

Bharti Infratel, in the past, has expressed interest in expanding its holding in Indus Towers. In October last year, Bharti Infratel had said it will "explore" acquiring additional stake in Indus Towers, a move likely to create India's largest mobile tower company.

However, Bharti Infratel is yet to provide any updates on the same.