Bharti Airtel pares early losses despite tepid Q4 earnings, zooms 4.5%

NEW DELHI: Shares of Bharti Airtel pared early losses and rose by 4.5 per cent on Wednesday despite the telecom major reported its lowest quarterly profit in four years as net earnings fell 72 per cent in January-March, hit by “sustained predatory pricing” by rival Reliance Jio. The company announced the results after market hours on Tuesday.

The net profit in the quarter ended March 2017 stood at Rs 373.4 crore, nearly a fourth of the Rs 1,319.2 crore notched in the year-ago period.

The stock opened the day on a weak note and fell by over 2 per cent but later zoomed 4.39 per cent to Rs 360.70 on BSE.

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday before market hours informed bourses that it has considered and recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per equity share of Rs 5 each for the financial year 2016-17.

Benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 133 points, or 0.44 per cent, up at 30,066 at around the same time.

Sunil Mittal-headed company blamed rival Reliance Jio for the lowest profit since the January-March quarter of 2013 and said the “sustained predatory pricing” by the new entrant was responsible for the drop in annual revenue of the entire telecom industry.

According to ICICI Securities, Bharti Airtel Q4FY17 revenues came in lower than expected as the tariffs continued their downward trajectory with continued price war both on the voice and data space. Margins came in better than expected due to savings on the access charges.

“Given the heightened competitive scenario in the sector, we would continue to see a tariff decline in both the voice and the data segments as the incumbents would focus on protecting their turf,” said ICICI Securities.