Telecom tower company Bharti Infratel Ltd.'s net profit fell for the first time in the last five quarters.
The company saw its profit fall 17 percent to Rs 596.6 crore in the March ended quarter compared to a year ago. Revenue increased 13.2 percent to Rs 1,605.3 crore. While the topline beat estimates of analysts tracked by Bloomberg, the bottomline missed forecasts.
Operating income rose 14.9 percent to Rs 770 crore, while operating margin widened 70 basis points to 47.9 percent.
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Bharti Infratel facilitates tower and related infrastructure services for telecom companies and holds a 42 percent equity interest in Indus Towers Ltd., the market leader.
Bharti Infratel added 391 towers in the fourth quarter, taking the total count to 90,646, according to its media statement. The tenancy ratio, or the number of operators that put up their antennae on the towers, remained flat at 2.32 times.
Bharti Airtel Ltd., the parent company, holds a 61.6 percent stake in Bharti Infratel. On March 29, the parent had sold 10.3 percent stake for Rs 6,194 crore to pare debt.
Bharti Infratel board proposed a final dividend of Rs 4 per share. The company, earlier in the year, completed a Rs 2,000-crore buyback, and also approved an interim dividend of Rs 12 per share. This would take the total payout to shareholders to Rs 2,670, including taxes, for the full financial year 2017, the statement said.
Shares of Bharti Infratel closed 0.5 percent lower compared to a 0.2 percent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index.
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