As operating costs bite, Idea net falls 13%

Idea Celluar, the Aditya Birla company, on Thursday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 239 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, down by 13% due to pressure on operational margins and higher interest costs.

Idea Celluar, the Aditya Birla company, on Thursday posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 239 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, down by 13% due to pressure on operational margins and higher interest costs.

HT Image

The company, third largest mobile phone carrier by revenue, had recorded a revenue of Rs 274.5 crore a year earlier.

The company’s top line jumped by 27% to Rs 5,369.7 crore on the increase in subscriber base across segments. It’s market share stood around 12% according to the company officials. “The potential for growth is huge as Indian operators could add as much as 400 to 500 million additional customers to the cellular market,” said Himanshu Kapadia, CEO, Idea. It said EBITDA was affected in the quarter due to a one time payment to the regulator for Rs 150 crore.

Idea is set to lose licences in nine circles following the Supreme Court order. The company did not specify if it would participate in the fresh bidding, Kapadia said.