Reliance Communications aims to lower debt by March 2017

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Communications is pursuing multiple deleveraging options, especially in non-core assets, which should help it lower net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to almost 3.5 by March 2017, the company's management said on Monday.

The company, India's fourth-biggest mobile carrier by customers, was concurrently following up on asset monetisation plans which were "all in the bouquet of things to address for lowering the debt," Gurdeep Singh, chief executive of Reliance's consumer business, said on a call with investors.

The company's plans include a potential stake sale in its tower unit, the sale of its international business unit and real estate sales.

Singh added that the company was confident of bringing down its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to around 3.5 by March 2017, from the current 4.64.

 

The company, controlled by Indian tycoon Anil Ambani, is the most leveraged among publicly traded Indian telecom carriers and had a net debt of 367.26 billion rupees ($5.77 billion) at March 31.

Ambani said last year that the company aimed to bring debt to under 200 billion rupees by September 2016.

Reliance Communications, which posted a 46 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit helped by increased data usage by subscribers, also said it would step up installation of 3-G tower sites this year to cater to the rising data potential in India.

"With the smartphone penetration now reaching a certain level which may warrant a 3G expansion into the Tier-2 towns, we will be looking at a 3G expansion (this year), Singh said.

($1 = 63.6050 rupees)

(Reporting by Aman Shah in Mumbai; Editing by Sunil Nair)