RCom Q3 net profit down 43.3 per cent
23 Jan 2013
Reliance Communications has reported a 43.3 per cent fall in net profit in fiscal third quarter ended 31 December 2012, as high interest costs continued undermine profitability of the country's third largest operator. The company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs105 crore in the third quarter, compared with Rs186 crore posted during the same quarter a year ago.
The company's total income rose 5 per cent to Rs5,301 crore during the quarter under review, compared with Rs5,055 crore recorded during the same period a year ago.
The operator's third quarter revenues per minute rose to 44 paise. Wireless revenues increased by 4.7 per cent and wireless EBITDA rose 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
''We have successfully achieved RPM stability for the last 11 consecutive quarters amidst increasing competition and over supply of minutes in market place,'' the company said in a release.
The company's 3G customer base rose 27 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, with over 6.1 million subscribers as of 31 December. Its data subscriber base stood at 27.6 million as of the end of the quarter.
The company continued to be free cash flow positive. RCom generated operational cash flow (EBITDA) of Rs1,653 crore in Q3. This is the second full year of positive free cash flow (FCF) for the company and this trend is expected to continue in coming years.