Jio Effect: Bharti Airtel March Quarter Profit Plunges 78%, Lowest In Nearly 15 Years

Bharti Airtel Ltd posted its lowest quarterly profit in nearly 15 years on Tuesday, as a price war in the telecoms sector continued to hurt, while revenue was hit by a regulatory cut in international termination charges. The entry of Reliance Jio, the telecoms arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, into the domestic telecoms sector has set off a brutal price war among operators as they drastically cut prices to compete with Jio's bottomed out plans.

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Compounding to the industry's woes, the telecoms regulator had also cut international termination charges (ITC) - paid by global long-distance operators to local carriers - to 30 paise from 53 paise, effective from February.

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"The telecom industry continues to witness below cost, artificially suppressed pricing," Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel's managing director and chief executive for India and South Asia, said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Profit slumped 77.8 per cent to Rs 82.9 crore ($12.49 million) in the quarter ended March 31, the company said, its lowest since the quarter ended June, 2003.

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Revenue fell 10.5 per cent to Rs 19,634 crore rupees.

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