Gains from exceptional item aided telecom major Bharti Airtel to post a rise of 37.5 per cent in its total consolidated net profit for the January-March quarter, on an year-on-year (YoY) basis.

The total consolidated net profit (profit attributable to owners and non-controlling interest) of the company stood at Rs576.10 crore during the fourth quarter (Q4) of financial year 2018-19, against Rs419 crore reported during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Airtel said in a statement. “Exceptional item during the quarter ended March 31, 2019 mainly comprises credit of Rs2,052.2 crore pertaining to re-assessment of levies, based on a recent pronouncement related to the manner of determination of such levies,” the company said in a statement.

The company’s total income during the period under review was Rs20,656.8 crore, 6.09 per cent higher than Rs19,469.8 crore earned during the same period of FY 2017-18, it said.

However, for the fiscal 2018-19, the telco reported 22.72 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs1,687.50 crore. The total income of the company in FY 2018-19 was Rs81,071.4 crore, 2.19 per cent lower from Rs82,887.6 crore. Meanwhile the Bharti Airtel and Hughes Communications India, a subsidiary of the Hughes Network Systems, (Hughes), a global broadband satellite networks and services provider, on Tuesday announced an agreement to combine their ‘Very Small Aperture Terminal’ (VSAT) operations in India.

Hughes will have majority stake in the combined entity and Airtel will have a significant shareholding, said a joint statement by Airtel and Hughes.

“The combined entity will bring greater scale, operational efficiencies and market reach to serve India with secure and reliable broadband satellite and hybrid solutions for enterprise and government networks,” it said.

Indo-Asian News Service