Idea Cellular net falls 41% to Rs 106 cr on 3G cost

Idea Cellular, India’s fourth-largest mobile phone carrier by subscribers, on Friday reported a sharper-than-expected 41 percent fall in consolidated quarterly profit, weighed down by costs related to its third-generation network.

Idea, part of India’s Aditya Birla Group, said consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September fell to Rs 106 crore ($21 million) from Rs 180 crore a year earlier.

Brokerages had, on average, expected net profit of Rs 158 crore for the company, in which Malaysia’s Axiata owns about a fifth, according to a Reuters poll.

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Reuters