Idea cuts employee costs by 40% in 3 months, improves margin in Jan-Mar

Idea Cellular slashed its employee costs by nearly 40% in the three months from January to March this year, and also reduced several other items of expenditure in a successful attempt to protect its margins from the impact of falling revenue. As a result of the heavy cost cutting ahead of its merger with Vodafone, […]

Bharti Infratel loses 22,134 tenancies in FY18, but Q4 revenue rises 4%

Bharti Infratel, the telecom tower company from the Bharti group, reported a modest 4% growth in sales and 2% improvement in net profit due to a loss of tenancies as well as increasing fuel costs. The company’s revenue rose 4.2% on year to Rs 1,673 cr in the fourth quarter, which, however represented a decline […]

Ortel sees further declines in Q3, hints at Q4 clean-up

Ortel Communications (Ortel), the Orissa-based cable and broadband services provider, reported a loss of Rs 6.6 cr for the third quarter as its broadband business was hit by 4G providers and cable business was under competitive pressure from DTH services. The loss of 6.6 cr compared with a loss of Rs 1.5 cr last year, […]

Future Retail reports 81% jump in net profit on sales growth, lower interest costs

Future Retail, the flagship company of the Future Group led by Kishore Biyani, reported an 81% jump in its net profit due to higher operating leverage afforded by increasing revenue and a sharp dip in interest costs. Net profit for October-December rose to Rs 183 cr from Rs 101 cr in the year-ago quarter and […]

Union Bank posts Q3 loss of Rs 1,250 cr on higher provisions, lower treasury income

Union Bank of India, one of India’s largest state-controlled banks, reported a deterioration in its loan book quality and wider losses for the October-December quarter. The bank posted net loss for Rs 1,250 crore for the quarter, compared to net profit of Rs 104 cr for the same quarter last year. Higher provisions to deal […]

Tata Tele Maharashtra pre-tax losses narrow as depreciation falls

Tata Teleservices Maharashtra, the listed arm of Tata Teleservices that provides telecom services in Maharashtra and Goa, reported better pretax profit margins for the December quarter thanks to lower depreciation charges. Pretax losses narrowed to Rs 385 cr in Q3 from Rs 392 cr in the Q2 and Rs 489 in the year-ago period. Depreciation […]

Higher advertising costs limit Q3 margins at Info Edge India

Info Edge India, which runs websites like jeevansathi.com and naukri.com, reported a 22% year-on-year increase in revenue and but the top line remained flattish on a sequential basis. Margins suffered due to higher advertising costs. Total billing during the third quarter increased 19% on year to Rs 228.3 cr, the company said. Net sales rose […]

Tech Mahindra reports 13% QoQ jump in PAT due to tight control over costs

IT services company Tech Mahindra reported a 13% sequential jump in its net profit despite modest growth, after it was able to keep costs almost static. Revenue in rupee terms rose 2.2% on quarter. Translated to dollars, it was up 2.5%. Year on year, revenue was up 2.9% in rupee terms and 8.3% in dollar […]

Maruti Suzuki Q3 sales up, profit hit by taxes; Tweaks royalty agreement

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported a 14% increase in net sales for the third quarter, but net profit increased by only 3% due to a rise in tax expenses and investment losses. Operating profit rose 22% on year. Higher “tax rates and lower non-operating income due to mark-to-market impact on the invested surplus” were […]