Bharti Airtel net profit falls for 12th successive quarter

Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile operator by subscribers, has posted 72 per cent fall in net profit to Rs284 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2012, impacted by high interest costs, forex fluctuation and tax provisions.

This is the 12th successive quarter the company had posted lower net profit, while the results were also below market expectations. The New Delhi-based company's net profit stood at Rs1,011 crore for the comparable quarter of the previous financial year.

"Market conditions have been challenging in recent quarters due to pricing pressures and rising input costs,  which have put enormous pressure on the sector and consequently the margins," Bharti Airtel chairman and managing director Sunil Mittal said in a statement.

''However, the worst seems to be getting over with corrections taking place in customer acquisition practices and the tariffs, which are driving quality of acquisitions and improving efficiencies,'' he added.

The telecom player's total revenues rose 9.5 per cent to Rs20,239 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs18,477 crore recorded in the year-ago period.

The company's overall customer base stood at 262.27 million across mobile telephony, telemedia and digital services across geographies.