Airtel Confirms Talks With Tata Group For Potential Combination Of D2H Business

Bharti Airtel Ltd. on Wednesday confirmed that it is in discussion stage at present to acquire Tata Play's Direct To Home business with their subsidiary Bharti Telemedia, according to a statement to the exchanges.

The company's consolidated net profit surged over fourfold sequentially in the third quarter of the current financial year, beating analysts' estimates.

The telecom operator reported a net profit of Rs 14,781.2 crore during the October–December period, compared to Rs 3,593.2 crore in the previous quarter, according to an exchange filing on Thursday. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had a consensus estimate of Rs 5,023 crore.

The increase in profit before tax can be attributed to a net exceptional item amounting to Rs 7,545.6 crore.

• Revenue up 8.8% to Rs 45,129.3 crore versus Rs 41,473.30 crore. (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 43,955 crore).

• Ebitda up 13% to Rs 24,597 crore versus Rs 21,846 crore (Estimate: Rs 23,743 crore).

• Margin expands to 54.5% versus 52.7% (Estimate: 54%).

• Net profit at Rs 14,781.2 crore versus Rs 3,593.2 crore.

• Average revenue per user rose to Rs 245 versus Rs 233.

• India mobile services revenue up 5.8% to Rs 26,268 crore versus Rs 24,837 crore (Estimate: Rs 26,229 crore).

• India mobile services Ebitda up 9.1% to Rs 15,456 crore versus Rs 14,171 crore (Estimate: Rs 15,443 crore).

Shares of the company ended 2.32% higher at Rs 1,638.45 apiece on the NSE, as compared to a 0.03% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.

The scrip has risen 45.81% in the last 12 months. The relative strength index of the stock is at 45.17.