Africa ops may take more time to earn $5bn revenue: Airtel

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel today said it may take some more time to achieve the target of USD 5 billion in revenue from its Africa operations.

The company, which announced its financial results for the April-June 2012 quarter, said its net loss from Africa has widened to Rs 669.3 crore from a net loss of Rs 301.6 crore in the same period last fiscal.

The company had said, last year, that it expected to touch USD 5 billion in revenues by March, 2013.

"It may take some more time(But) the target remains intact," Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint M D Manoj Kohli said on a conference call.

The total revenues from Africa in the quarter under review rose by 32% to Rs 5,758.6 crore in rupee terms from Rs 4,378.4 crore in the same period last fiscal, "helping lift the overall consolidated growth of the company".

However, its net loss from the region was "significantly high" at Rs 669.3 crore, mainly due to the pressures on EBITDA, higher depreciation and substantial finance cost, including forex losses, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Overall, Bharti Airtel's net profit has declined for the 10th straight quarter as cut-throat competition squeezed margins.

Bharti Airtel added 2.7 million users during the quarter taking its subscriber base to nearly 60 million at the end of June 30, 2012, across 17 African countries. Average revenue per user stood at USD 6.5 per month.

Non-voice revenue, which includes revenue from services other than voice such as SMS, MMS, Ring Back Tone, Airtel Talkies, Music on Demand), data, among others, contributed about 12.9% to the total revenues.

During the quarter under review, Bharti Airtel incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 645 crore on its African operations.