Reliance Communications has posted a 59.52 per cent drop in consolidated net profit of Rs 102 crore in the September quarter, due to a rise in finance costs.

The telecom operator, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, had posted a net profit of Rs 252 crore for the same quarter (July-September) of the previous financial year. Its consolidated revenues rose 3.2 per cent to Rs 5,202 crore (Rs 5,040 crore), while it recorded EBITDA margins of 31.5 per cent during the quarter.

“This was a satisfying and stable quarter, considering this quarter being seasonally a weak quarter for the industry. The fall (in net profit) was due to the payment payout for 3G spectrum and the rise in interest costs. These finance costs were not there in the year ago quarter,” RCom President and Chief Executive Officer (Wireless Business) Gurdeep Singh said.

In comparison, the country’s largest telecom operator by subscriber base, Bharti Airtel had posted a 29.8 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 721 crore from Rs 1,027 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

RCom’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a metric to gauge the financial health of a telecom operator, moved to Rs 102 during the quarter. RCom’s ARPU stood at Rs 98 per user during the sequential quarter (April-June), he added.

The company’s Minutes of Usage rose to Rs 236 during the quarter from Rs 228 during the June quarter, he said, adding the key metrics of company were “strong”.

“We have successfully achieved revenues per minute (RPM) stability for the last 10 consecutive quarters amidst increasing competition and over-supply of minutes in the market place,” Singh said, adding that RPM stood at 43.2 paise during the reporting quarter.

Prior to the results announcement, the company’s share price closed up 1.3 per cent at Rs 58.55 on the BSE.

> rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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