Telcos Q3 gross revenue dips 1.16% to Rs 49,365 cr

Uninor posts the highest revenue growth of 24% to Rs 808 cr among all operators

The combined gross revenue of telecom operators in the country dipped by 1.16% year-on-year to Rs 49,365.18 crore for third quarter ended December 2011, data released by Trai showed.

Uninor has registered the highest revenue growth of 24% to Rs 807.75 crore among all operators during s October-December 2011 period.

Of the total revenue reported by telecom operators, Bharti Airtel accounted for Rs 10,487.65 crore, the maximum by any operator. Compared to the previous quarter, Bharti reported a 4.07% rise.

Vodafone's gross revenue grew 6.94% on quarterly basis to Rs 7,887.85 crore.

Other new operators like Sistema Shyam Teleservices and Videocon registered growth of 15.40% and 10.35% to take their gross revenue to Rs 378.73 crore and Rs 141.39 crore, respectively.

On the other hand, Etisalat DB and S Tel reported decline of 9.56% (Rs 18.32 crore) and 24.33% (Rs 29.18 crore) in their gross revenues.

State-run BSNL's gross revenue declined 11.19% to Rs 4,166.73 crore, while that of MTNL stood at Rs 775.21 crore, dipping by 3.96%.

Idea Cellular's gross revenue stood at Rs 5,080.89 crore, while that of Reliance Communications, Aircel and Tata Telecommunications stood at Rs 3,031.03 crore, Rs 1,649.61 crore and Rs 3,022.83 crore, respectively.

Access service providers segment, which includes telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL and others, accounted for 76.37% of the total sector revenue, according to Trai's performance indicator report.

National long distance service providers contributed 13.93%, followed by international long distance service providers at 5.62% and the remaining 4.06% by others.

The total adjusted gross revenue, on which government gains revenue, of the telecom sector stood at Rs 34,081.35 crore.

The government gained Rs 2,833.53 crore and Rs 1,245.29 crore as license fee and spectrum charges, respectively during the reported quarter.