Bharti Airtel posts weaker earnings in quarter to end-March

Bharti Airtel reported weaker-than-expected profit and revenue for its latest quarter as higher costs, fierce price competition and regulatory uncertainty impacted results.

For its fiscal Q4 (ending March 31), the Indian cellco reported a 28 per cent decline in net profit to US$200 million, though revenue rose 15 per cent to US$3.7 billion. For the full year, net income was down 30 per cent to US$890 million, while revenue was up 20 per cent to US$14.9 billion.

In a statement, Airtel said the shortfall in annual net income was impacted by 3G licence fee amortisation (US$135 million), 3G interest costs (US$95 million), forex fluctuation losses (US$87 million) and tax provisions (US$82 million).

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and MD, also noted that “the recent regulatory developments in India will have significant implications on the future of telephony and broadband, as well as India’s global competitiveness.”

Airtel’s total customer base rose 14 per cent year-on-year to 252 million, stretching across 20 countries. This included 188 million mobile subscribers in India and its other Asian markets, and 53 million in Africa.

Quarterly revenues were up by 10.5 per cent at the India & Southeast Asia unit (to US$2.7 billion) and by 16 per cent in Africa (US$1 billion).