Bharti Airtel Q1 net up 48 per cent y-o-y and 11 per cent sequentially

Our Corporate Bureau
26 July 2006

Bharti Airtel, the country's largest mobile telecom company, has come out with first quarter results which are ahead of market expectations. The company has managed double digit growth in both top line and bottom line even on a sequential basis and the declining trend in average subscriber revenues has been arrested.

Consolidated net profits for the quarter ended 30 June 2006 increased 48.09 per cent to Rs 755.1 crore from Rs 509.9 crore for the previous year quarter. Consolidated revenues increased 53.2 per cent to Rs 3,856.4 crore from Rs 2,517.3 crore for Q1 2005-06.

On a sequential basis, net profits have gone up 10.67 per cent from Rs 682.3 crore reported for the quarter ended March 2006 on a revenue growth of 13.05 per cent from Rs 3,411.3 crore.

Operating profits or EBITDA, excluding other income, for the quarter were higher by 59.68 per cent as compared to the previous year quarter. Operating margins as a percentage of revenues expanded to 38.95 per cent from 37.37 per cent a year ago. Operating margins were 37.5 per cent during the Jan-March 2006 quarter.

The expansion in margins was mostly a result of tighter control on operating expenses. Cost of services rendered increased 48.56 per cent over the previous year quarter, lower than the rise in revenues. Selling, staff and administrative expenses were higher by 49.83 per cent over the prior year quarter.

Within the cost of services rendered, license fee paid increased 36.33 per cent while access and interconnect charges went up by 39.03 per cent over the previous year quarter.