Idea Cellular's Oct-Dec quarter net profit below estimates on higher finance costs

Idea Cellular Ltd, India’s third-biggest mobile phone operator, said quarterly net profit fell 0.4 percent, missing expectations, weighed down by higher finance charges.  The company, which in December launched its 4G services in select cities, said it had raised its capital expenditure estimate for the fiscal year to March to Rs 7,500 crore ($1.1 billion), from Rs 6,000-6,500 crore guided previously. Idea, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate and nearly a fifth owned by Malaysia’s Axiata, said consolidated net profit fell to Rs 764 crore in its fiscal third quarter to 31 December, from Rs 767 crore a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 806 crore, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. Revenue in the December quarter rose 12.4 percent from a year earlier to Rs 9,001 crore. Idea said it expected to roll out 4G services across 750 towns and cities in India by June this year. Indian mobile operators are bracing for tough competition in an already cut-throat market as Reliance Jio, the telecoms unit of conglomerate Reliance Industries, plans to launch nationwide 4G broadband services later this year. Reuters