Bharti Infratel's net declines by 4%
26 Jul 2018
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Mobile tower firm Bharti Infratel has posted a 4-per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs638 crore for the first quarter ended 30 June, compared with Rs664 crore recorded for the same period a year ago.
During the quarter under review, the company’s total revenues rose 4 per cent on a consolidated basis to Rs3,674 crore, compared with Rs3,524 crore posted in the comparable year-ago period.
Bharti Infratel’s consolidated EBITDA fell by 3 per cent to Rs1,521 crore during the quarter under review. This was due to co-location exits of 26,743 in the last 12 months (on a consolidated basis) as a result of operator consolidation in the Indian telecom industry, the company said in a statement.
“With the consolidation phase largely over, the Indian telecom industry is now witnessing an integration phase as operators consolidate their networks and spectrum before the next phase of rollouts. We remain confident of the long-term growth potential of the Indian telecom sector driven by rising user demand, availability of cheaper handsets, introduction of new technologies and availability of rich content to the customers,” Akhil Gupta, chairman, Bharti Infratel, said.
“This would necessitate rapid network rollouts. With our nationwide coverage, operational excellence and strong financial position, we believe we will continue to be the partner of choice for all operators for their passive infrastructure requirements,” he added.
Despite the marginal decline in profitability, the operating free cash flow stood at Rs 991 crore for the quarter, similar to last year.
Approvals
Bharti Airtel also received clearance from stock exchanges for its proposed merger with Indus Towers.
“We are pleased to inform you that “no adverse observation” letter has been received from the stock exchange for the proposed merger of Bharti Infratel Ltd and Indus Towers Ltd. The company will file the first motion petition before the NCLT in due course,” Bharti Infratel said in a regulatory filing.
