Bharti Airtel fell 0.99% to Rs 293.90 at 10:13 IST on BSE after the company said it will move to the Supreme Court of Nigeria against a decision of the Court of Appeals in Lagos in a longstanding dispute with Econet Wireless.
The announcement was made after market hours on Thursday, 20 February 2014.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 159.47 points, or 0.78%, to 20,696.11.
On BSE, so far 77,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 3.06 lakh shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 298.35 and a low of Rs 293.80 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 373.50 on 1 November 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 266.95 on 5 April 2013.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 20 February 2014, sliding 3.85% compared with the Sensex's 3.15% fall. The scrip had underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 13.49% as against Sensex's 0.48% decline.
The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1998.70 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.
Bharti Airtel said it is not satisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos delivered on 14 February 2014 and will lodge an appeal against that decision at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
According to media reports, the Court of Appeals in Lagos ruled that an International Tribunal had acted properly while ordering that the sale of a 65% stake in the Nigerian business unit by Celtel Nigeria to Zain of Kuwait was null and void, as it did not follow proper procedures, like offering Econet Wireless the first right of refusal since it was a shareholder. Bharti bought the Nigeria business of Zain in 2010 and inherited a legal battle which has been on since 2006 related to the Celtel-Zain deal.
Bharti Airtel said that the judgment has no impact on the equity holding of Bharti Airtel or of the other shareholders in Airtel Networks, Nigeria (Airtel Nigeria). Bharti Airtel owns 79.06% stake in Airtel Nigeria.
Airtel Nigeria has already launched an appeal before the Supreme Court of Nigeria against the Judgment of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna in the matter relating to Econet's claim for 5% shares in Airtel Nigeria. These shares in any case are held in an escrow account and do not affect Bharti Airtel's 79.06% stake in Airtel Nigeria, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel and Airtel Nigeria have full confidence in the laws of the land, and believe the Supreme Court in Nigeria will determine the appeals on merits, Bharti Airtel said.
Bharti Airtel wishes to assure its customers, employees and business partners that these judgments will in no way affect operations of Airtel Nigeria, the company said.
While media reports said Econet would claim damages of more than $3 billion, Bharti said neither the Court of Appeals nor a court in Kaduna, which was dealing with a separate case, had determined any quantum of damages.
"As regards the quantum of the claim as mentioned in some media reports, we would like to unequivocally state that neither of these orders of the Court of Appeals in Lagos and in Kaduna deal with the quantum of damages and no such quantum has been determined," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
On Wednesday, 19 February 2014, Bharti Airtel announced that it has crossed the 200 million mobile subscribers mark in India, further consolidating its leadership position in the world's second largest mobile market. Airtel is the largest telecom operator in India, both in terms of customers and revenues. The company ranks as the fourth largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscribers, the company said in a statement.
On Tuesday, 18 February 2014, the company announced acquisition of smaller rival Loop Mobile. Bharti Airtel, however, did not disclose how much it was paying for acquiring the assets of Loop Mobile (erstwhile BPL Mobile). Loop Mobile only operates in Mumbai, with 3 million subscribers. Shares of Bharti Airtel fell 0.95% to Rs 302.20 on Tuesday, 18 February 2014.
Under the agreement, Loop Mobile's 3 million subscribers in Mumbai will join Airtel's over 4 million subscribers, creating an unmatched mobile network in Mumbai, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Loop Mobile subscribers will become part of Airtel's global network that serves over 289 million customers in 20 countries. Globally, Airtel is ranked as the fourth largest mobile services provider in terms of subscribers, the company said.
Last week, Bharti Airtel announced that it acquired 115.0 MHz spectrum for a total consideration of Rs 18530 crore in the recently concluded spectrum auction conducted by the Government of India. Bharti Airtel said it will make an upfront payment of Rs 5425 crore, with the balance to be paid in ten annual installments of Rs 1310 crore each, commencing two years from now, the company said.
Bharti Airtel said that the company's spectrum acquisition is in line with its strategy of building a robust network of the future and enhancing its leadership position in the fast growing data segment. The company plans to roll-out high speed 4G networks in various circles using FD-LTE technology in the 1800 MHz band besides its existing TD-LTE roll-out in the 2300 MHz band, giving it a pan-India 4G footprint, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel complimented DoT and TRAI on the successful outcome of the auction. It said that the auction has lent credence to the industry's position that reasonable reserve prices ensure successful auctions, while high reserve prices are counterproductive. It added that in most circles the auction in 1800 MHz showed a balanced approach between the revenue for the exchequer and industry viability due to ample spectrum being put up for auctions. However, the auction in 900 MHz band resulted in artificial and unrealistic prices on account of shortage of spectrum and the unenviable position of the incumbents who were forced to bid for this spectrum to protect the interest of their customers and the huge investments made by them, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
On a consolidated basis, Bharti Airtel's net profit surged 115.1% to Rs 610.20 crore on 13.3% growth in net sales to Rs 21938.50 crore in Q3 December 2013 over Q3 December 2012.
Bharti Airtel is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 289 million customers across its operations at the end of January 2013.
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