Reliance Communications' first quarter net profit is seen rising 22.8 percent sequentially to Rs 280 crore but revenue may dip 1 percent to Rs 5,644 crore as its subscriber additions remained weak compared to peers. The telecom operator will announce its earnings on August 14.
Analysts expect volume growth of around 2 percent compared to Idea Cellular's 5.8 percent in June quarter.
Key factors to watch out for would be its commentary on the progress of sale of non-core assets (towers etc.) to deleverage the balance sheet and merger with Sistema. It has debt of USD 6 billion at the of March quarter.
According to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may increase 0.35 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,983 crore and margin may expand 49 basis points to 35.13 percent in the quarter gone by.Key performance indicators
Average revenue per user may fall 2.7 percent to Rs 143. Revenue per minute is seen declining 2 percent at 43.5 paise and voice revenue per minute may slip 3.2 percent to Rs 32.13 paise on sequential basis.
Minutes of usage is expected to be at 329 in June quarter against 330 in March quarter. Total minutes may jump 2.2 percent to 110.5 billion minutes from 108.1 billion minutes during the same period.
During the quarter, Sistema announced that it entered into exclusive discussions with Reliance Communications on a potential merger between the Indian telecom business of Sistema Shyam and Reliance Communications through a stock swap. The discussions are indicative and non-binding in nature.
There have been reports that global tower companies and private equity firms are eyeing majority stake in tower assets of the company.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
