RCom’s Loss Narrows In Q3 On Consumer Business Exit

Reliance Communications Ltd.’s loss narrowed after the debt-laden telecom operator shut down its voice business.

Net loss for the quarter ended December stood at Rs 130 crore compared to a loss of Rs 2,712 crore in the previous three months, the company said in an exchange filing. Revenue of the Anil Ambani-led firm rose 1 percent to Rs 1,144 crore.

RCom’s planned exit from the consumer business helped the company achieve more than desired results as the net loss narrowed, Ambani said in the statement.

His elder brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. help RCom escape insolvency proceedings by agreeing to buy the debt-laden company’s spectrum, mobile-phone towers and fiber assets. That helped infuse the much-needed cash as it struggled to repay lenders after its deal to merge with Aircel Ltd. failed and planned sale of towers couldn’t go through.

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Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 0.5 percent sequentially to Rs 220 crore in the quarter ended December, while its margins remained flat at 19.2 percent.

Other Highlights

• Revenue from Indian operations fell 7.6 percent sequentially to Rs 596 crore.
• Global operations' revenue rose 4.1 percent to Rs 709 crore.
• Total income rose 2.1 percent to Rs 1,176 crore.

Shares of RCom closed 4 percent lower on the Bombay Stock Exchange compared to a 1.8 percent decline in the BSE Telecom index.

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