Idea 1Q net profit slumps on new service launches, falling call prices

Indian mobile network operator Idea Cellular has revealed a slump in net profits for the three months ended 30 June 2010, with the cellco attributing the decline to operational losses as a result of launching in new regions, provisioning for higher spectrum charges and falling call rates due to hyper-competition in the mobile sector. For the company’s first fiscal quarter of the 2010/11 financial year it posted a consolidated net profit of INR2.01 billion (USD42.6 million), down 32.2% year-on-year, despite a 22.7% increase in consolidated revenues to INR36.5 billion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) meanwhile were up 3.3% against the same period a year earlier at INR8.88 billion.