Idea shares plunge over 6%; m-cap shrinks Rs 2,529 cr post Q3

Shares of telecom major Idea Cellular today plunged over 6 per cent, eroding Rs 2,529 crore from its market valuation, after the company suffered a decline in consolidated net profit for the December quarter.
After falling 7.28 per cent to Rs 105.60 -- a 52-week low -- in intra-day trade, the shares finally ended at Rs 106.85, down 6.19 per cent on BSE.
At NSE, the shares slid 6.23 per cent to close at Rs 106.85.
Led by the decline in the stock, the company's market valuation fell Rs 2,529.16 crore to Rs 38,469.84 crore.
In terms of volume, 27 lakh shares of the company changed hands at BSE and over 1 crore at NSE during the day.

"Shares of Idea Cellular slipped more than 7 per cent in the day after the company reported Q3 numbers which failed to meet market expectations," said Hiren Dhakan, Associate Fund Manager, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.

Idea Cellular had yesterday announced a marginal decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 764.2 crore for the quarter ended December 2015 due to a decline in voice and mobile data rates.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 767.1 crore for the same period a year ago.
"Despite the healthy subscriber growth, we have witnessed intense rate pressure. Our voice rate declined 10.6 per cent and mobile data rates 17.2 per cent during the third quarter of 2015-16," Idea Managing Director Himanshu Kapania said.

The net sales increased 12.4 per cent to Rs 9,009.7 crore during the reported quarter, from Rs 8,017.5 crore a year ago.