Reliance Communications reported a 61 per cent fall in quarterly profit, its 10th straight quarter of declining profit, as the country's second-biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers struggles with its heavy debt load. Reliance Communications, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, said consolidated net profit fell to Rs 186 crore for its third quarter ended December from Rs 480 crore a year earlier.
Analysts in a Reuters poll of brokerages had, on average, expected net profit of Rs 195 crore for the company, which had more than 150 million mobile customers as of December.
Reliance Communications, which last month secured $1.18 billion loans from Chinese state banks to repay maturing foreign bonds, has long been trying to sell assets to cut its debt — $6.5 billion as of September — but has so far had little success.
The company competes with 14 other carriers in the ferociously-competitive Indian market.
It is reported to be in talks with US buyout giants Blackstone and Carlyle on selling its telecoms tower arm in a deal that could be worth more than $3 billion.
Sources have cautioned that a deal is not yet close to completion, and a history of unsuccessful deal-making has made investors sceptical.
Reliance is also looking to raise up to $1.5 billion in a Singapore listing of its undersea cable business, sources said last month.
The company said consolidated net profit fell to 1.86 billion rupees for its fiscal third quarter ended December, from 4.80 billion rupees a year earlier.
Analysts in a Reuters poll of brokerages had on average expected net profit of 1.95 billion rupees for Reliance, which had more than 150 million mobile customers in India's fast-growing market as of December.
In a verdict that is likely to shake up India's telecoms industry, the Supreme Court last week ordered revoking 122 zonal licences issued to companies in a scandal-tainted 2008 sale.
