BackTata Communications reports 66% dip in Q3 net profit at ₹59 cr
The company reported a 1% dip in revenue growth for Q3 at ₹4,242.6 crThe company said that it has received demand of ₹6,633 cr from DoT towards licence fee on its adjusted gross revenue for the financial year 2006-07 till 2017-18
PremiumMumbai: Tata Group’s telecommunication company Tata Communications Ltd reported 66% dip in net profit over the same period last year to ₹59 crore during the December quarter. On a sequential basis, the net profit grew 8.6%.
The company reported a 1% dip in revenue growth for Q3 at ₹4,242.6 crore over the same quarter last year while sequential growth was flat.
The company reported Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at ₹760.8 crores with margins at 18%. EBITDA declined by 9.7% YoY and declined by 8.7% QoQ, primarily due to decline in voice business and a one-time cost of ₹62 crore in Tata Communications Transformation Services Ltd (TCTSL) informed the management.
“Our Data business continues to drive growth and profitability and we are witnessing strong growth in our Enterprise segment – both in India and internationally. New technologies are redefining customer expectations, driving change in how businesses operate and how people engage with each other and the world around them," said A.S Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications.
Data business saw steady growth during the quarter despite industry headwinds. Revenue came in at ₹3,420 crore, witnessing a growth of 2.8% YoY and 0.6% sequentially. On a normalized basis revenue grew by 5.7% YoY. Among segments traditional services contributed to 63% of revenue. Traditional services include virtual private network, international private line, internet leased line, ethernet, internet protocol –transit, Inmarsat, Content Delivery Network, National Private Line, Mobility.
The growth was due to robust performance across all segments in Data business, added the management. Capex for Q3 was reported ₹490 crore as compared to ₹454 crore in Q2FY20.
The company also said it received demands for ₹6,633.43 crore towards License Fee on its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for the financial years 2006-07 till 2017-18 from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) during Q2. However, this includes an amount of ₹5,433.7 crore which were disallowed by the telecom department towards the cost adjusted to Gross Revenues by the company that were claimed on accrual basis instead of actual payment, for which a revised statement on the basis of actual payment has been submitted.
DoT, the apex agency for telecom services in the country, grants different types of licences ranging from basic to UASL, cellular, ILD, VSAT, NLD, IP-I, PMRTS etc. to numerous entities for carrying out their businesses and sell services to consumers. Following the October 24 order, the DoT had sought ₹1.47 lakh crore from telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and 13 other telecom companies as AGR. DoT has also raised a demand of Rs. 1.72 lakh crores from no-telecom companies.
“The company believes that all its licenses are different from Unified Access Service License (UASL), which was the subject matter of the Supreme Court judgement," said the company statement. It further noted that the company has responded to the DoT denying and disputing the amount claimed by DoT and has not received any response to submission. The government holds 26.12% stake in Tata Communications and the company has not made provision for the DoT's demand of the ₹6,633 crore.
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