Tata Communications' Q3 net profit rise by 1176%; shares jump

Tata Communications on Tuesday reported robust growth during the financial quarter ended on December 31. The company posted a net profit of Rs 1,413 crore, a jump of 1,176%, as against Rs 110.74 crore during the same period last year. 

On consolidated basis, the company's total income decreased from Rs 4,596.8 crore in Q3FY16 to Rs 4,450.9 crore in Q3FY17. 

The company in a release said that the rise in profit after tax is due to contribution from an exceptional one-time gain from the stake sale of the India Data Centre (Rs 2,138 crore) was offset by the impairment (RS 250 crore) on account of the South African subsidiary- Neotel.

The EBITDA for the Q3FY17 stood at Rs 722 crore, a drop of 3.7% on year-on-year basis and a decline of 16.8% on quarterly basis. The company said that EBITDA growth were impacted by the exclusion of the India data centre revenue with effect from October 19, 2016 and also a couple of regulatory changes that led to modifications in access facilitation agreements and the demonetisation drive which affected the payment solution business. 

Commenting on the results, Vinod Kumar, MD and CEO, Tata Communication, said, " These results illustrate our strategic intent, in both financial and operational terms. Our recent investment in Teleena Holdings B.V. reflects our strategic vision to build further capabilities in mobility and IoT, creating an access and usage agnostic, cross-border mobile experience for humans and machines alike."

At 1012 hours the shares of the company were trading at Rs 702.70 per piece, up 4.52% or Rs 30.40 on BSE.