Bharti Infratel net up on higher tenancy

Company's Q4 net jumps 64% to Rs 472 cr, revenue up just 4% to Rs 2,790 cr during the quarter

Bharti Infratel, the telecom tower arm of India’s largest cellular operator Bharti Airtel, has reported a 64 per cent jump in net profit in the January-March quarter of FY14. The better-than-expected growth is on the back of higher revenue as well as increased tenancy with operators beginning to invest in infrastructure for 3G and 4G services.


Bharti Infratel said on Thursday its consolidated net profit rose to Rs 472 crore for the quarter under review, up from Rs 287 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue increased just four per cent to Rs 2,790 crore, compared to Rs 2,674 crore a year ago.

“The regulatory environment in the telecom sector has improved significantly after the spectrum auctions conducted in February 2014. Operators have made large investments primarily for data networks using the 3G and 4G technologies,” said Bharti Infratel chairman Akhil Gupta.

For the full year ended March 31, the company reported a 51 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 1,518 crore, compared with Rs 1,003 crore in FY13. Total revenue for the year rose five per cent to Rs 10,827 crore, up from Rs 10,272 crore reported in the previous year.

At the end of FY14, the company had a total tower base of 83,368 and a sharing factor of two for the current quarter.

 

In December 2013, Bharti Airtel had signed an agreement with Reliance Jio to share its telecom infrastructure for the 4G roll out of the Mukesh Ambani firm. Reliance Jio is expected to launch services within the next few months.

Bharti Infratel’s board of directors has proposed a dividend of Rs 4.40 a share for the year, making the total payout, including dividend distribution tax, 90 per cent of the year’s profit, the company said in a statement.