Telecom infrastructure company Bharti Infratel on Thursday posted a 23 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the December quarter at Rs 798.7 crore.
The company, in a regulatory filing, noted the recent USD 3 billion fund raising by Bharti Airtel has eliminated uncertainty about the ability of the parent firm to comply with the Supreme Court judgement on statutory dues.
However, it also cautioned that loss of a significant number of customers or failure to attract new business could have an adverse effect on the company.
Bharti Infratel's consolidated profit after tax increased 23 per cent year-on-year to about Rs 799 crore for the just ended quarter. Its net profit stood at Rs 648.4 crore in the year ago period.
Total income slipped 4.2 per cent to Rs 1,684.5 crore, although after incorporating its share of revenue from Indus Towers, Bharti Infratel showed a 1 per cent year-on-year increase in its segment revenue to Rs 3,673 crore for the reported quarter.
Bharti Infratel is in the process of merging with Indus Towers and is awaiting clearance from the Department of Telecom.
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The company said the telecom industry continues to face financial uncertainty due to the recent Supreme Court judgement on statutory dues, but for which growth of towers and co-locations would have been even stronger.
Bharti Infratel Limited Chairman Akhil Gupta noted that the company witnessed another quarter of improved net additions on both towers and co-locations during the three months ended December 31, 2019, with net tower additions being the highest in four years on a quarterly basis.
"As a result, the company has been able to largely recover the revenue and profitability that was lost due to large exits of co-locations that it witnessed over the last few quarters.
"The telecom industry continues to have financial uncertainty due to the recent AGR case judgement by the Supreme Court, but for which we believe that the growth of towers and co-locations would have been even stronger," he said.
Two telecom operators have filed modification petition before the Supreme Court whose outcome is awaited.
"We look forward to a positive outcome so that the operators are able to speed up investment in their networks. Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers will benefit from this enhanced momentum," Gupta said.
Fifteen telecom operators owe the government Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. These liabilities arose after the Supreme Court in October last year held that non-core revenues have to be considered for calculating statutory dues from Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
In the case of Bharti Airtel, the liabilities added up to nearly Rs 35,586 crore, of which Rs 21,682 crore is licence fee and another Rs 13,904.01 crore is the spectrum usage charge dues (not including the dues of Telenor and Tata Teleservices).
Vodafone Idea -- which is staring at unpaid statutory dues of Rs 53,038 crore, including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee -- has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Ltd, and Tata Teleservices have, meanwhile, jointly filed a modification application in the Supreme Court seeking more time to pay the statutory dues.