Reliance Infocomm posts Rs 50 cr loss

Reliance Infocomm, the Reliance Group telecommunications service provider, is expected to be in black in the quarter ended March 31, 2005. The company has recorded a loss of Rs 50 crore in the quarter ended September 2004.

Reliance Industries vice chairman and managing director Anil Ambani told Business Standard: "The company has had a rapid growth, signing up 10 million subscribers in just 18 months. At this pace, we expect the company to be in black by end of the fourth quarter of this fiscal."

Ambani was speaking to media persons after announcing Reliance Industries' results for the quarter ended September 2004. He reiterated that though "the magnitude of money will be small, we will be in black by the fourth quarter".

Reliance Industries owns 45 per cent equity in Reliance Infocomm. The service provider had recorded a loss of Rs 125 crore in the quarter ended June 2003, the first completed quarter of operations.

Last year, Reliance Infocomm had posted a loss of Rs 390 crore. Reliance Infocomm already has built up a 10 million subscriber base which includes 8.6 million subscribers on the CDMA technology.

Ambani pointed out that the company has raised overseas debt, commercial borrowings based on the strength of its balance sheet. He also pointed out that the firm will consider an initial public offering at an appropriate time, sometime 2005-06. During the quarter to September, Reliance Communications (Canada) Inc and Reliance Netway Inc became subsidiaries of Reliance Communications.