Nomura maintains neutral on Bharti Airtel post Q4 results

MUMBAI: Nomura has maintained its neutral rating on Bharti Airtel after the company's fourth quarter results were in line with market expectations.

"Based on the 4Q EPS run rate, we estimate there could be further 20% downside to consensus' FY13F forecasts. This, along with regulatory uncertainty, should keep a lid on the share price", said Nomura analysts led by Sachin Gupta, in a note to clients.

Bharti shares fell 0.9% to end at Rs315 on Thursday. Macquaria raised its price target for Bharti to Rs295 from Rs290 earlier.

"Our target price is 30% below consensus due to operational and regulatory concerns," Nomura analysts said. "Following the recent FY12 results, we have trimmed our FY13-14 estimates by 8%, primarily driven by higher D&A and interest," they said.