MTNL posts $193 mln net loss in Dec qtr

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd  reported a quarterly net loss as staff costs rose and revenue fell.

The state-run firm, which operates in the New Delhi and Mumbai cities, said on Saturday it posted a net loss of 8.95 billion rupees ($193 million) for its fiscal third-quarter ended December, compared with a net profit of 530.98 million rupees in the year-ago quarter.

Total income fell to 9.19 billion rupees in the quarter from 11.25 billion rupees a year earlier.

Staff cost during the December quarter more than doubled to 13.36 billion rupees from 5.82 billion in the year-ago quarter.