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Bharti Airtel Q4 net profit tanks about 78% to Rs 83 crore

The Board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for the financial year to March.

Bharti Airtel Q4 net profit tanks about 78% to Rs 83 crore

New Delhi: India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel Q4 net profit tanked about 78 percent to Rs 83 crore, the company said in a BSE filing on Tuesday. Airtel had registered a net profit of Rs 373 crore in the same period a year ago.

Hit by the telecom regulator`s decision to cut international termination charges, Airtel's total revenue the fourth quarter fell 10.5 percent to Rs 19,634 crore compared to Rs 21,935 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.  

For the full financial year that ended in March 2018, Airtel's net profit came in at Rs 1,099 crore, over 71 percent lower than Rs 3,800 crore logged in FY2016-17. Total revenue for FY2017-18 stood at Rs 83,688 crore, down by 12.3 percent than the previous financial year

The Board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for the financial year to March.

The company competes with the operators like Vodafone, Idea Cellular and newcomer Reliance Jio in the highly-competitive telecom market in India.

Lately Airtel has been under tremendous pressure on the tariff front after the entry of Reliance Jio, offering data at rock-bottom prices.

Reliance Jio, backed by Indias richest man Mukesh Ambani, had launched its inaugural free voice and data plan in September 2016. In December, it extended the freebies up to March 2017, much to the dismay of other operators which alleged that such offerings not only hit their profitability but were against the regulations.

Even after the launch of its paid services post March last year, Jio continues to be aggressive, offering data at rock-bottom prices while voice calls are free.

The telecom industry has several times alleged that the predatory pricing by the new operator continues to hurt, besides impacting the financial health of the sector.

With Agency Inputs