Bharti Airtel Q2 net up 13 p.c, lags forecast

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile operator, on Friday reported a 13 per cent rise in quarterly profit that lagged analysts' estimates as an increasing number of low-paying users and price competition weighed.

New Delhi-based Bharti, in which Southeast Asia's top phone firm SingTel owns more than 30 per cent, said net profit rose to rupees 2321 crore ($495 million) under U.S. accounting rules in its fiscal second-quarter ended September from rupees 2046 crore reported a year earlier.

Revenue rose 9 per cent to rupees 9846 crore from 90.20 billion.

A Reuters poll of 11 brokerages had forecast a net profit of rupees 2441 crore on revenue of 10355 crore for Bharti, which added 8.1 million mobile users in the quarter to take its customer base to 110.5 million.

India's mobile industry, the world's fastest-growing major market, is becoming increasingly competitive, with existing players cutting rates to attract subscribers before four new firms start operation this year.

Bharti shares have lost nearly a quarter in October, while second-ranked Reliance Communications is down by almost a third in the face of the price war. Bharti shares gained 4.4 per cent in the September quarter, underperforming the broader market.