Mumbai: Buoyed by strong growth in voice usage and data consumption, telecom operator Idea Cellular on Thursday posted 29 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 308.18 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013. Given the strong performance, the company has announced a dividend for the first time in 16 years. The company's net profit stood at Rs 238.98 crore in the same period last fiscal.
Total revenues during January-March 2013 quarter rose by 12.88 per cent at Rs 6,061.38 crore against Rs 5,369.69 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Besides, the company generated cash profit of Rs 4,696.8 crore in FY'13, up 30.2 per cent over FY'12. The net debt stood at Rs 11,588 crore and for FY 14, it plans to invest Rs 3,500 crore for its network and fibre network, the company said.
"A combination of growth in minutes and data helped the business and EBIDTA growth of nearly Rs 200 crore this quarter and Rs 970 crore for the full year. The growth has also come on account of better cost management and razor sharp execution," Idea Cellular Managing Director Himanshu Kapania told reporters here. Meanwhile, Kapania said: "On the last day of the financial year we received a tax demand on Idea Cellular and its subsidiaries. We believe the demand is not in line with current tax practices and the demand is erroneous...We have appealed at appropriate forums for squashing of the demand."
For the year
09:56 AM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: In a breather for Vodafone and Idea Cellular, the Delhi High Court on Friday restrained the Centre from taking any "coercive steps" against the telecom majors which have been asked to pay penalty of Rs 550 crore and Rs 300 crore respectively for providing 3G services outside their circles without requisite licences. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, referring to a Supreme Court order on a plea of Bharti Cellular Ltd...
12:42 PM, Apr 12, 2013
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel cannot add new 3G customers in seven zones where it does not own the airwaves and offers the services through pacts with other carriers, the Supreme Court said on Thursday, pending a final ruling in the dispute. Bharti can, however, continue 3G services in the zones for its existing customers, the court said, after hearing an appeal by India's top telecommunications carrier challenging a government ban...
12:52 PM, Apr 11, 2013
Morgan Stanley raised its rating on Bharti Airtel Ltd to "overweight" from "equalweight," citing positive factors for the sector such as rising tariffs and data volumes, falling capital spending and eased competitive intensity. ...
11:12 AM, Feb 27, 2013
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed curative petitions of several telecom firms for re-examination of its verdict cancelling 122 2G spectrum licences allocated during tenure of former telecom minister A Raja. ...
07:34 PM, Feb 14, 2013
Idea Cellular, India's no. 3 mobile phone carrier by revenue and fourth-biggest by customers, has increased voice call prices in some telecommunications zones by withdrawing promotional offers, a company spokeswoman said. ...
01:38 PM, Jan 23, 2013
New Delhi: The second day of auction for 2G spectrum started at 9 AM on Wednesday, on the back of demand for spectrum in the Bihar telecom circle. A Department of Telecommunications official replied in the affirmative when asked if the auction resumed on time on Wednesday morning. "Yes. Eighth round is in progress," the official said. The government is auctioning eight blocks of spectrum having 1.25 megahertz airwaves frequencies...
10:44 AM, Nov 14, 2012
New Delhi: There has been a lukewarm response to 2G spectrum auction which opened on Monday in New Delhi with sources saying that there have been no bids in the top five to six circles. The first two rounds of re-auction of 2G spectrum have ended and no company has come forward to bid for key and lucrative circles like Delhi and Mumbai. There have been no bids for Rajasthan...
02:46 PM, Nov 12, 2012
Mumbai: Norway's Telenor has applied to take part in the 2G spectrum auction, opting to stay in the country despite being stripped of its permits after a scandal-tainted previous sale. Telenor joins India's top three operators by revenue in eyeing the 2G radio waves, though Russian conglomerate Sistema's Indian affiliate Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd, which also lost its permits obtained in 2008, said it would not be participating. The auction...
12:46 PM, Oct 20, 2012
New Delhi: Mobile call rates would double in some circles if the recommendations of sectoral regulator TRAI on spectrum pricing are accepted, telecom CEOs who met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal warned on Tuesday. "...there will be circles which will have more than a 100 per cent price rise (in tariffs) if they were to absorb the impact of what is being recommended," Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor told reporters. "In...
04:50 PM, May 08, 2012
New Delhi: Nearly three weeks after the Supreme Court quashed 122 telecom licenses, three of the most affected companies - S Tel, Telenor and Idea Cellular - on Tuesday separately announced plans that range from indications of shutting shop to seeking review of the apex court ruling. S Tel in a statement said it is helping its subscribers switch to other operators, a possible indication that the firm may be...
12:01 AM, Feb 22, 2012
New Delhi: Seeking clarity on pricing of spectrum and allocation, CEOs of five top telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular will be meeting Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday. The high level government-industry interaction would take place for the second time within less than two months. The industry leaders, including Sunil Bharti Mittal, Anil Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on...
08:17 AM, Jan 24, 2012
New Delhi: Seeking clarity on pricing of spectrum and allocation, CEOs of five top telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular will be meeting Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday. The high level government-industry interaction would take place for the second time within less than two months. The industry leaders, including Sunil Bharti Mittal, Anil Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on...
08:04 PM, Jan 23, 2012
New Delhi: The Telecom Ministry is likely to terminate the licences of Idea Cellular in six circles, including Delhi, Karnataka and Punjab, and impose an additional Rs 300 crore penalty on the company for violating roll-out obligations. "The Department of Telecom will soon send notice to Idea Cellular asking them to stop their services in six service areas in Karnataka, Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. The department has...
09:50 PM, Jan 05, 2012
New Delhi: Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal will soon meet telecom industry leaders to work out an amicable resolution to the dispute between the government and service providers over a 3G roaming pact. "I will meet with the industry players soon to discuss the 3G roaming issue, industry players have sought time and I am hopeful to resolve the issue," Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of the Skoch summit on...
01:25 PM, Nov 29, 2011
New Delhi: The total revenue of telecom service providers was Rs 50,054 crore during the quarter ended September, according to TRAI data released in New Delhi on Wednesday. Bharti Airtel alone accounted for almost 26 per cent of total industry gross revenue at Rs 13,239 crore. It was followed by state-owned BSNL, with 18 per cent share at Rs 9,040 crore. Vodafone was next, with 17.8 per cent share at...
10:57 PM, Nov 23, 2011
Mumbai: Taking a leaf from telecom giant Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone also increased tariffs on their pre-paid plans in select regions while Bharti expanded its new tariffs to other circles, officials familiar with the development said Thursday. Idea has increased its tariff from 1 paisa per second to 1.2 paisa per second for calls made from Idea to other networks including both local and STD calls in the...
07:30 AM, Jul 29, 2011
New Delhi: India's GSM subscriber base grew by 1.95 per cent in April with the addition of 11.11 million mobile phone users, of which Bharti Airtel alone signed up over 2.41 million customers. The total number of GSM subscribers in the country crossed 580.67 million as against 569.56 million in March, according to the data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). Bharti Airtel now has a market share...
01:04 PM, May 20, 2011
New Delhi: Aditya Birla Group firm Idea Cellular on Friday approached sectoral tribunal TDSAT against a DoT notice to cancel its licence in Punjab for violating merger and acquisition (M&A) norms. On April 21, the Department of Telecom (DoT) issued show cause notice (SCN) to Idea as to why its licence for the Punjab circle should not be cancelled on violation of M&A norms. The company has also been slapped...
06:15 PM, Apr 29, 2011
New Delhi: The CAG started the 2G fire and the Supreme Court is stepping on the gas. It looks like the ED is zeroing in on the 2G beneficiaries nested in tax havens. CNN-IBN has accessed Letters Rogatory sent by the Enforcement Directorate to find out the real beneficiaries in the 2G scam. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ticked off the government for giving 2G licenses to sTeL despite a...
07:41 PM, Mar 09, 2011
