RCom posts 37 % in June quarter net profit

Impacted by forex losses and higher interest costs, Reliance Communications, the country's second-largest mobile operator by subscribers, reported a 37 per cent fall in June quarter net profit.

The Anil Ambani group company posted net profit of Rs157 crore for the quarter ended 30 June  2011, compared with Rs250 crore recorded during the same period a year ago. Its total income fell to Rs4,940 crore during the quarter under review from Rs5,109 crore posted during the same period a year ago, it said in a stock exchange notice.

In comparison, Idea Cellular also posted a dip in first quarter net profit, hurt by spectrum fee and interest costs following the launch of 3G services. The Aditya Birla group firm reported a 12-per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs177.26 crore for the first quarter ended 30 2011. {LINK}

Impacted by an array of factors, ranging from rise in interest costs, higher taxes and tariff war in the country, Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator by revenues, posted a 28 per cent slump in net profit for April-June quarter. (See: Idea Cellular first quarter net dips 12 %)

Vodafone Essar, the unlisted Indian subsidiary of U.K's Vodafone Group Plc, posted a 9 per cent growth in revenue at £1.03 billion for the first quarter ended 30 June 2011, helped by an increase in customer base.

This is the eighth consecutive fall in net profits for the company. Reliance Comunications has had over 143 million wireless connections as on 30 June 2011, compared with Bharti Airtel's £169 million and £Vodafone's 142 million accounts.