Bharti Infratel Q2 profit falls 17% to Rs638 crore
Bharti Infratel's revenue in the September quarter jumped nearly 11% to Rs3,648 crore from Rs3,292 crore in the year- ago period
New Delhi: Telecom tower firm Bharti Infratel Ltd on Monday reported a 17.57% drop in consolidated net profit to about Rs638 crore for the second quarter ended 30 September.
The net profit stood at about Rs774 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The revenue during July-September quarter jumped nearly 11% to Rs3,648 crore from Rs3,292 crore in the year- ago period, according to a company statement.
In a separate filing, Bharti Infratel said its board of directors at a meeting on Monday have also “decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers...". This is being done with the aim “of making it a subsidiary or a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel Ltd", it said, but did not provide additional details.
Bharti Infratel chairman Akhil Gupta said the company and Indus Towers (where Bharti Infratel owns 42% stake) are “well positioned" to grab their fair share of market and “create sustainable value for all stakeholders. “Indian telecom has embraced the data centric model and is emerging as the showcase of digital technology with operators rolling out 4G networks and India planning a leadership role on upcoming 5G technology and associated applications," Gupta said in the statement.
At the same time, leading operators have outlined plans to infuse more investments in strengthening the digital infrastructure at the recently-concluded India Mobile Congress, Gupta pointed out. “The Government of India’s Smart Cities program presents additional opportunity to create infrastructure for sharing on a non-discriminatory basis. All of this is good for the sector at large," he added.
Indus Towers a joint venture between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, has portfolio of around 1.23 lakh mobile towers across the country.
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