Bharti's Q3 profit soars on jump in cell user base

Tuesday, 20 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, one of India's leading telecom sector providers, said Tuesday that the company's net profit in the October-December quarter rose sharply after the increase in mobile phone subscribers. New Delhi-based Bharti Tele-Ventures said its net profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2003, touched 1.61 billion, as compared to a loss of 70 million logged in the same period previous year, according to a company statement. The company's total revenue in the October-December period jumped a robust 50 percent to 12.69 billion, added the statement. In the October-December quarter of fiscal year 2002-03, its revenue touched 8.47 billion. "Bharti Tele-Ventures' performance during the quarter has once again demonstrated its ability to deliver financial performance on sustainable basis," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group managing director of Bharti Tele-Ventures. "It has also strengthened its resolve to provide the full benefit of scale and size, translating into superior range of telecom services to all our customers," he added. The company, which offers mobile, fixed-line, domestic long-distance and overseas telephone services, said it had a 25 percent market share in the country's booming cellular services market by the end of December 31, 2003. Bharti added nearly one million customers during the October-December quarter, becoming the first private mobile operator in the country to cross the five-million-subscriber mark, said the company statement. Mobile services constitute the largest portion of Bharti's business, both in terms of total revenues and total customers. The company offers mobile phone services in 15 out of 23 telecom circles in India. As on December 31, 2003, the company has made a gross investment of over 117.50 billion in building a telecom network in India, said the statement. "The company seeks to capitalise on the growth opportunities that it believes are available in the Indian market and consolidate its position to be an integrated telecommunications service provider, with a focus on mobile services," it added.
Source: IANS