Idea Cellular shares down 2% after Q2 profit takes sharp plunge

New Delhi: Shares of Idea Cellular ended 2 percent lower Tuesday after the company reported an 88 percent plunge in consolidated net profit for September quarter.

The stock dipped 2.08 percent to end at Rs 75.40 on BSE. During the day, it lost 3.83 percent to Rs 74.05.

At NSE, shares of the company fell by 1.95 percent to end at Rs 75.30.

The company's market valuation went down by Rs 575.22 crore to Rs 27,151.78 crore.

On the volume front, 12.35 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 2 crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day.

Idea Cellular, the country's third-largest telecom operator, yesterday announced an 88 percent plunge in consolidated net profit at Rs 91.46 crore in the September quarter due to higher expenses.

Net profit stood at Rs 762.27 crore in the corresponding three-month period a year ago.

"Higher network running expenses due to accelerated expansion, increased subscriber acquisition and servicing cost, and multiple inflationary pressures resulted in overall operating cost increase," the cellular firm said in a statement.

The company further said that its margin was adversely impacted by one-time depreciation charge of Rs 1,954.3 crore and finance cost of Rs 875.3 crore. The launch of 4G services in 10 circles and 3G in some areas also had its impact on margin.

The revenue of Idea Cellular, however, increased by 7.2 percent to Rs 9,300.23 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 8,675.37 crore in the year-ago period.