Moneycontrol BureauIdea Cellular share plunged 7.5 percent in the early trade Monday as it has posted a net loss in the quarter ended December 2016.The telecom operator has posted a consolidated loss of Rs 385.6 crore in the quarter ended December 2016 against profit of Rs 90.04 crore in previous quarter, impacted by demonetisation and Reliance Jio's free offerings that have been extended till March 31, 2017.On standalone basis, it has reported a loss of Rs 478.9 crore in Q3FY17, for the first time in 40 quarters since its IPO in 2007, as last two years of high investments increased depreciation & amortisation charges to Rs 1,965.3 crore and finance cost to Rs 923.2 crore.Consolidated revenue during the quarter fell 6.9 percent to Rs 8,662.7 crore compared with Rs 9,300.24 crore in previous quarter.Operating profit slipped 10.4 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,165.4 crore and margin contracted by 100 basis points to 25 percent in the quarter ended December 2016.The data average revenue per user during the quarter fell to Rs 111 against Rs 130 in Q2FY17.During the quarter, Idea capex spend was Rs 2,000 crore, partially funded by cash profit of Rs 1,230 crore. Net debt as of December 2016 stood at Rs 49,140 crore.
At 09:21 hrs Idea Cellular was quoting at Rs 106.10, down Rs 4.25, or 3.85 percent on the BSE.Disclosure: Reliance Industries, the parent company of Reliance Jio, owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com.Posted by Rakesh Patil
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