Bharti Infratel has reported a consolidated net profit of ₹600 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, down six per cent as compared with ₹638 crore in same period last year.

However, revenue of the company grew marginally to ₹3,668 crore (₹3,648 crore).

“With merger of Vodafone and Idea and resultant major co-location exits, the uncertainty in terms of reduction in co-locations is now behind us,” the company said.

Major exits

“The quarter witnessed much-anticipated major exits of nearly 55,000 co-locations at Infratel and Indus due to consolidation and merger of operators, particularly merger of Vodafone and Idea. With these, the uncertainties in this respect are broadly addressed,” Akhil Gupta, Chairman, Bharti Infratel, said.

The Indian telecom industry is now embarking on the next phase of roll-outs and the company remains confident of the growth potential for telecom sector driven by rising data demand, introduction of new technologies, availability of cheaper handsets and rich content, he said.

Network roll-outs

“This will necessitate rapid network roll-outs. With our nationwide coverage and strong operational performance, we believe we will continue to be the partner of choice for all operators for their passive infrastructure requirements,” he added.

As on September 30, the company has 92,123 towers as against 90,955 towers in September last year.

Meanwhile, the board has declared an interim dividend of ₹7.50 per equity share of ₹10 each for the current financial year.

Shares of the company closed at ₹263.10 on the BSE on Wednesday, down 0.89 per cent from the previous close.

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