In comparison, Bharti Airtel, the largest private telecom company, has reported a 37 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,853 crore and a 45 per cent rise in revenues to Rs 7,819 crore for the quarter ended March 2008.
The company incurred minority interest of Rs 124 crore during the quarter and the net profit is calculated after considering the minority interest. It added 4.8 million subscribers during the quarter under review, taking its subscriber base to 45.8 million.
Commenting on the results, RCom Chairman Anil Ambani said: "RCom has a record year and we are confident of improved performance in the future."
For the full year ended March 2008, the company posted a net profit of Rs 5,401 crore, up 70.8 per cent compared with Rs 3,164 crore during the same period a year ago. The company's revenues grew to Rs 19,068 crore as against Rs 14,468 crore during the previous financial year.
According to Madhusudan Gupta, a senior research analyst at Gartner, the primary reason was the addition of subscribers by the company, while the robust growth of the industry also helped RCom. "The company's focus on the rural segment, launch of low-cost handsets and lower price barriers also helped it post the growth," he said.
For the full year, RCom's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) was Rs 8,199 crore, registering a 43.3 per cent increase, while EBITDA margins rose to 43 per cent from 39.5 per cent.
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Ambani also said the company has earmarked Rs 25,000 crore for capital expenditure for the year, while it is also in talks with passive infrastructure service providers in the country. The commercial launch of the company's direct-to-home (DTH) project, BIG TV, will take place immediately and RCom will offer MPEG4 (next-generation technology) and high-definition TV content to users.