Tata Comm Q3 net jumps 12-fold on data centre sale

Telecom firm Tata Communications today posted an over 12-fold jump in its December quarter net profit at Rs 1,412.88 crore on account of realisation from sale of its data centre.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 110.74 crore in the same period a year ago.
"Consolidated PAT (profit after tax) stood at Rs 1,413 crore. Contribution from an exceptional one-time gain from the stake sale of the India Data Centre (Rs 2,138 crore) was offset by the impairment (Rs 250 crore) on account of the South African subsidiary," Tata Communications said in a statement.
The company entered into an agreement with ST Telemedia to sell 74 per cent stake in company's "data centre business in India and Singapore for an estimated 100 per cent enterprise value of Rs 31.3 billion and SGD 232.4 million."

"These results illustrate our strategic intent, in both financial and operational terms. We continue to face challenges in the voice sector but our investment in digital competencies holds us in good stead for the future," Tata Communications MD and CEO Vinod Kumar said.
He said that the company's recent investment in Teleena Holding BV reflects its strategic vision to build further capabilities in mobility and Internet of Things, creating an access and usage agnostic, cross-border mobile experience for humans and machines alike.

"The operational performance of the business continues to be robust as the growth trajectory in the data business continues to be positive. The process of de-leveraging has begun and the business is generating healthy free cash flow," Tata Communications Chief Financial Officer Pratibha K Advani said.

The consolidated revenue of Tata Communications, however, declined by 3.5 per cent during the reported quarter to Rs 4,360.05 crore from Rs 4,520.07 it posted in the corresponding period of 2015-16.
"Core business (consolidated excluding Neotel) growth was impacted by a decline in global voice demand (which continues to be a challenge for operations) and the adjustments made on account of the exclusion of the data centre revenues and one off adjustments," the statement said.
Shares of Tata Communications closed flat at Rs 672.3 a unit on BSE today.