The Hindu Business Line : Bharti Airtel Q4 net doubles

Bullish outlook: Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group MD, Bharti Enterprises, and Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal, JMD, Bharti Tele-Ventures, addressing a news conference in the Capital on Friday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi April 27 Bharti Airtel Ltd has registered a 98 per cent jump in net profit during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2007 at Rs 1,353 crore compared with Rs 682 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of the pervious fiscal. The boost in profit was mainly due to volume growth on account of lower call rates and network expansion.

The total revenues of the company were up 58 per cent at Rs 5,393 crore against Rs 3,411 crore during the corresponding period last year. The quarter also saw the company adding 53 lakh customers, its highest-ever net addition in a single quarter. Despite the good performance, Bharti Airtel's stock that opened at Rs 869.80 per share on the BSE saw a slide to close at Rs 862.05 per share.

For the financial year 2006-07, the net profit was up 89 per cent at Rs 4,257 crore compared with Rs 2,257 crore during the financial year 2005-06. The total revenues for the year under review registered a 59 per cent growth to touch Rs 18,520 crore against Rs 11,621 crore the year before.

"This has been a year of accelerated growth and market leadership, the demand for telecom services across all segments remain buoyant and we believe this growth momentum can be sustained,'' Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, said after announcing the company's results.

"During the year, we added 1.8 crore subscribers and currently enjoy a market share of 22.9 per cent (20.4 per cent during the 2005-06 fiscal)," Mr Mittal said. The company, as on March 31, 2007, had a total customer base of 3.9 crore, an increase in the total customer base of 86 per cent over the previous fiscal. The growth in the customer base was driven by a 90 per cent year-on-year growth in its mainstay mobile services business, while its broadband and telephone services business saw a 39 per cent growth over the previous year.

However, there was a five per cent drop in the average revenue per user (ARPU) to Rs 406 compared to the preceding quarter. But the average minute per user at 475 minutes was higher compared with 431 minutes the previous fiscal.

Overseas expansion

The management was optimistic that margins could be sustained at around 40 per cent during the current fiscal though pricing pressure remains constant. Mr Mittal added that the company was open to expanding its presence outside the country as well. "We are looking at opportunities and as and when they present itself we will explore the opportunities of expanding to other SAARC countries as well as in the African region," he said.

The company also announced an ambitious plan to invest up to $3.5 billion (Rs 14,000-15,000 crore) to expand its network across India and Sri Lanka.

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