Idea Cellular Q1 disappoints, PAT down 2% at Rs 234 cr

Telecom operator Idea Cellular's net profit fell 2% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 234 crore in the first quarter of FY13, which was lower than expectations. Analysts on an average had expected a net profit at Rs 300 crore.

Net sales too rose lower than expected by 2% to Rs 5,501 crore during the same period. Analysts had forecast at Rs 5,606 crore. "The above is primarily due to slide in 'average realisation per minute' (ARPM) by 2.3% to 41.2 paise in comparison to 42.2 paise in Q4FY12, suggesting the industry growth is likely to be muted in the first half of this financial year," company said in a release. The company reported a forex loss of Rs 24.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2012. EBITDA increased 5.78% QoQ to Rs 1,435.5 crore from Rs 1,357.1 crore. EBITDA margin too improved by 80 basis points at 26.1% versus 25.3% during the same period, but that was lower than expectations as analysts had forecast of 27.1%. Average revenue per user declined to Rs 156 from Rs 160. Minutes of usage stood flat at 379. The stock fell 1.65% to close at Rs 80.40 on the BSE today.