NEW DELHI: In what is seen as a surprise, telecom major Bharti Airtel on Monday posted a 29 per cent surge in its March quarter net profits as exceptional income gains and its Africa business helped offset losses in India mobile services operations.
The company—whose profitability has been battered by intense price competition posed by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio earned a net profit of Rs 107.2 crore in January-March against Rs 82.9 crore it earned in the same period of the previous fiscal. Bharti’s bottom line was bolstered by a one-time exceptional credit of Rs 2,167.60 crore arising from re-assessment of levies, based on a recent pronouncement.
This is the first rise in profit after several quarters for the company. Revenue soared 6.2 per cent to Rs 20,602.2 crore for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The company said that the Indian mobile revenue has also grown by around three per cent to Rs 10,632 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 10,353 crore in the fourth quarter previous year.
“The company is proposing, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, to make a rights issue of its Equity Shares,” the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.