Idea Cellular posts bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss

REUTERS - Telecom carrier Idea Cellular Ltd posted its fourth straight quarterly loss on Monday, as it struggled with the aggressive pricing structure brought in by an upstart rival.

Net loss after tax was 11.07 billion rupees ($169.45 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of 915 million rupees a year earlier, Idea Cellular said on Monday. (http://bit.ly/2i9WwuO)

Analysts on average expected the company to post a loss of 11.25 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Revenue from operations of the company, which is merging its operations with Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit, fell about 20 percent to 74.66 billion rupees.

 

($1 = 65.3300 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta and Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)