Shares of Bharti Airtel fell by over 3 per cent in the morning trade today after the country’s largest telecom operator posted a 72 per cent decline in its net profit for the December quarter.
Reacting to the quarterly results, shares of Bharti Airtel opened on a weak note and subsequently dived by 3.62 per cent to an early low of Rs 327.10 apiece on the BSE.
On the NSE, the company opened at Rs 336.45, then fell by 3.8 per cent to a low of Rs 326.70.
Bharti Airtel’s net profit declined for the 12th consecutive quarter, dropping 72 per cent to Rs 284 crore for the October-December 2012 quarter due to high interest costs, forex fluctuation and tax provisions.
“The consolidated net income was impacted by higher depreciation and amortisation cost (Rs 316 crore), net interest costs (Rs 284 crore), forex fluctuation losses (Rs 261 crore) and tax provisions (Rs 109 crore),” the company said in a regulatory filing to the bourses.
The telecom player’s total revenues rose 9.5 per cent to Rs 20,239 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs 18,477 crore in the year-ago period.
At 10.41 a.m., shares were quoted at Rs 335.05 on the BSE, down 1.28 per cent from the previous close , while the telecom firm was trading at Rs 337.75 on the NSE, a drop of 0.54 per cent.
Meanwhile, 30-share Sensex was trading at 19,926.82 points, up 32 points or 0.16 per cent from the previous close.