Bharti Airtel quarterly net income down 28 percent

New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel Wednesday reported a 28 percent decline in consolidated net income at Rs.1,006 crore for the quarter ended March 31, owing to higher costs on account of 3G licence fee amortisation, forex fluctuation losses and tax provisions.

The net income during the like period of the previous financial year stood at Rs.1,401 crore, the company said in a statement.

The total revenue stood at Rs.18,729 crore, up 15 percent during the quarter under review against Rs.16,293 crore during the like period of 2010-11.

For the year ended March 31, 2012, the net income of the company stood at Rs.4,259 crore, down 29.6 percent against Rs.6,047 crore during the year ended March 31, 2011.

The total revenue for the year under review was Rs.71,451 crore, up 20 percent against Rs.59,538 crore during the previous financial year.

The mobile customers of the firm during the quarter under review stood at 252 million across 20 countries including 181.3 million in India which is up by 5.6 million as compared to the previous quarter.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) went up by Rs.2 at Rs.189.

On the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recommendations for the spectrum auction, the company said that the proposals were not right adding that it was optimistic that the government would take appropriate decisions.

"The recent regulatory developments in India will have significant implications on the future of telephony and broadband, as well as India's global competitiveness," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti Airtel.

"The entire industry looks to the government for a fair, transparent and sustainable telecom regime," he added.

The company also said that they had almost 9-million customers on their 3G network across the country out of which 30 percent were active users while its total internet customers were 35 million.

The company expects consolidated capital expenditure of $3 billion to $3.2 billion in the financial year 2012-13. "The capex outlook excludes any potential payment for spectrum," said Sarvjit Singh Dhillon, group chief financial officer, Bharti Enterprises.

At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the shares of the company were trading 2.11 percent up at Rs.316.85.