Bengaluru: India’s Idea Cellular Ltd reported a surprise quarterly profit on Monday on a one-time gain from the sale of telecom towers, but an aggressive pricing war set in motion by deep-pocketed rival Reliance Jio continued to dent its topline.
Net profit came in at 257 crores for the quarter ended 30 June, compared with a net loss of 815 crores last year, Idea said in a statement.
Analysts, on average, were expecting a net loss of 1,371 crores, according to estimates by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
However, a gain of about 3,365 crores from the sale of Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services, helped the company turn in a profit.
Revenue from operations fell about 28% to 5,889 crores.
The highly competitive market has forced smaller rivals to exit and prompted Idea to merge operations with Vodafone’s Indian unit. India’s telecom department has given the deal its nod, Idea said last week.
The merger, which will potentially create India’s biggest telecom operator, is expected to close shortly, it added.
Idea’s larger rival Bharti Airtel Ltd posted a surprise profit last week, helped by tax gains, but its bottomline remained under pressure as it tries to keep up with Mukesh Ambani-backed Jio’s cut-price strategy.
Shares of Idea closed 3.6% higher on Monday.