Idea Cellular slips nearly 4% on poor quarterly result

NEW DELHI: Shares of Idea Cellular slipped nearly 4 per cent in Tuesday’s trade after the company reported an 88 per cent YoY drop in its consolidated net profit for September quarter at Rs 91.46 crore.

The company had reported Rs 762.27 crore net profit for the July-September quarter a year ago. Following the development, the stock slipped 3.83 per cent to hit a low of Rs 74.05 on BSE.

Morgan Stanley in a note said the company was at highest risk due to relatively smaller balance sheet. It has maintained an underweight rating on the stock with a target of Rs 60. Brokerage Credit Suisse maintained an ‘underperform’ rating on the stock with a target of Rs 55.

The company on Monday said its revenue for the quarter rose 7.2 per cent to Rs 9,300.23 crore from Rs 8,675.37 crore reported for the year-ago period.

Citi, meanwhile, has maintained its sell rating on the stock with a target of Rs 70. Idea is vulnerable to competition given high leverage, said the brokerage, adding that it "expects margin to remain under pressure in H2 given challenging operating environment."