Indian telecom operator Uninor today reported a narrowing of its operating loss at about Rs 435.6 crore (Norwegian Krone 444 million) for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012.

The company had reported operating loss of Rs 4,883.5 crore (NOK 4978 million) for the same period a year ago.

“The findings are a testimony to the fact that Uninor is gaining momentum in India even with the limited number of circles they are present in. With break-even expected in other circles this year, the India picture is quite encouraging for the company,” Uninor said in a statement.

Revenue during the reported quarter declined by 13.46 per cent at about Rs 795.23 crore from Rs 918.94 crore posted in the corresponding period in 2011.

In February 2012, Supreme Court cancelled all 22 licences of Uninor in the 2G case and the company was required to win spectrum in the November 2012 auction.

At the time of cancellation of its licences, Uninor had operations in 13 circles and it could win spectrum only in six circles for about Rs 4,018 crore in the last auction.

In the fourth quarter, Uninor had to incur other expenses of Rs 114.8 crore (NOK 117 million) mainly related to exit costs for the two circles — West Bengal and Kolkata — where it was unable to secure spectrum in the November 2012 auction to continue operations. This also included an adjustment of the scale-down costs recorded in the third quarter.

For the year ended December 2012, the company reported operating loss of Rs 6,170.4 crore (NOK 6,283 million). The company has reported operating loss of Rs 8,361 crore (NOK 8,514 million) for 2011.

The annual income of Uninor increased by 23 per cent at approximately Rs 3,650.2 crore (NOK 3716 million) for the financial year ended December 2012, compared to Rs 2,965.5 crore reported in FY 2011.

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