Bharti Airtel shares decline over 3 pc after Q4 results

Shares of Bharti Airtel declined over 3 per cent on Tuesday after its March quarter results failed to lift investors’ sentiment. The scrip fell 3.10 per cent to close at Rs 323.05 on the BSE. During the day, it dropped 3.71 per cent to Rs 321.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), its shares declined 2.87 per cent to close at Rs 323.85 apiece.

In terms of traded volume, 5.72 lakh shares were traded on the BSE and over one crore units on the NSE during the day.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel Monday reported a surprise 29 per cent surge in March quarter net profit as exceptional income gains and Africa business helped offset losses in India mobile services operations.

The company, whose profitability has been battered by intense price competition posed by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, earned a net profit of Rs 107.2 crore in the January-March period as against Rs 82.9 crore it earned in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

This is the first rise in profit after several quarters for the company. Revenue soared 6.2 per cent to Rs 20,602.2 crore for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

The firm had an exceptional income gain of Rs 2,022.1 crore in the quarter, it said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges.

Airtel neither issued the customary press release detailing earnings statement and management commentary nor provided average revenue per user, a key metrics tracked by analysts.