Unitech Wireless posts Rs 1,046-cr loss

Unitech Wireless, the joint venture between Norway’s Telenor and real estate firm Unitech, has posted a operating loss of Rs 1,046 crore (Norwegian Krone 1.2 billion) in the first quarter ended March, against Rs 934.9 crore (NOK 1.13) in the same quarter last year.

However, revenues increased to Rs 460 crore (NOK 548 million) during the period under review, against Rs 46.2 crore (NOK 55 million) in the corresponding period a year-ago, Telenor said in a statement on Wednesday. The figures are not comparable since the whole of 2010 was not accounted for during calculation.

Telenor holds a 67.25 per cent stake in Unitech Wireless, which operates under the brand name Uninor. Unitech Wireless’s former chairman Sanjay Chandra is in judicial custody in regard to the 2G spectrum allocation case. Telenor said Indian authorities are probing the 2G licence award process that took place in early 2008, prior to Telenor's entry to Uninor and it is looking forward to an early clarity in the investigation. Recently, some differences had also emerged between Telenor and Unitech Wireless over the rights issue for funding expansion needs, which is now in the court and will come up for hearing on May 15.

"The Asian operations were the main contributors to subscriber and revenue growth. Uninor in India continued the trend from the second half of 2010, with subscriber growth of 5.2 million reaching 17.4 million," Telenor President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said.

The global profit for the company more than doubled to Rs 2,536.8 crore (3 billion NOK) in the 2011 first quarter boosted by the Asian operations. The average revenue per user (ARPU) had stabilised while minutes of usage saw a rise, said Baksaas. The ARPU for the company stands at little over Rs 100 per subscriber.

Capital expenditure was significantly lower than in the first quarter last year and was related to roll-out of new towers in the 13 circles where it has launched services, the company said.