Tata Comm Q2 net slides 64 pc to Rs 40 cr

Tata Communications today reported a dip of 64 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 40 crore for the September quarter, mainly due to impairment charges on its investment in South Africa-based firm Neotel.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 112.27 crore in the same period a year ago.
Tata Communications incorporated Rs 125 crore as exceptional loss item. "Rs 125 crore was an impairment on investment in Neotel," it said in a note.
The company also incorporated impact of its data centre business. Tata Communication sold 100 per cent stake in its data centre business in Singapore and 74 per cent stake in India data centre business to ST Telemedia for SGD 232.4 million and Rs 3,130 crore, respectively.

The total income from operations of the company declined marginally to Rs 4,509.09 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 4,541.45 crore a year ago.
The data business of Tata Communications grew by 12 per cent to Rs 2,571.7 crore from Rs 2,293.33 crore. The payment solution business of the company grew by 10 per cent to Rs 152.55 crore from Rs 138.59 crore during the period under review.

"Tata Communications continues to contribute to the digital transformation journey of global businesses. The second quarter enterprise revenue has grown by over 24 per cent on a year-on-year basis and as we continue to increase the momentum of our data product portfolio, we are well positioned to grow and perform going forward," Tata Communications MD and CEO Vinod Kumar said.

However, the company saw a decline of 15 per cent in revenue of its voice business to Rs 1,785.8 crore from Rs 2,111.29 crore a year ago.
"With continued focus on driving operational efficiencies, we have generated healthy free cash flows of Rs 794 crore for core business in first half of the year. We are focused on strengthening our balance sheet and setting the stage for healthier return ratios," Tata Communications CFO Pratibha K Advani said.
Shares of Tata Communications closed 0.68 per cent up at Rs 611.15 on BSE.