Idea Cellular stocks down nearly 9% in afternoon trade as Q4 profit shrinks

Shares of telecom operator Idea Cellular tumbled nearly 9% in the afternoon trade on Friday after the company's net profit declined 39% in the March quarter.

The stock declined 8.77% to Rs 115.45 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock of company slumped 8.85% to Rs 115.30.

Idea Cellular's net profit dived 39% to Rs 575.6 crore in the said quarter due to a spike in finance costs.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 941.8 crore in January-March quarter of 2014-15.

However, the company's revenue increased 12.6% to Rs 9,483.9 crore during the reported quarter as compared with Rs 8,422.5 crore a year earlier.

Net debt of the company as on March 31, 2016, stood at Rs 38,750 crore, including all deferred payment liability to be paid to the government for spectrum purchased in auctions.

For the year to March 2016, the company's consolidated net profit declined 3.5% to Rs 3,079.9 crore, from Rs 3,192.9 crore a year ago.

At 14:00 hours, the shares of Idea Cellular were trading down 7.66% or Rs 9.70 to Rs 116.85 per scrip on the BSE.