Idea Cellular, Bharti Infratel shares slip ahead of Q3 earnings

Shares of Idea Cellular and Bharti Infratel fell 1.4 per cent each in trade on Monday ahead the companies’ December quarter earnings.

Idea Cellular declined 1.40 per cent to hit a low of Rs 70.40, before recovering all the losses.

The company is likely to report a net loss of Rs 448 crore for the first time since listing, largely weighed down by fierce competition with new entrant Reliance Jio and the recent demonetisation.

Even though the subscriber base is seen rising by 1.4 per cent sequentially, lower EBIDTA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and higher amortisation and interest costs are seen dragging the company into losses.

Bharti Infratel tanked 1.44 per cent to hit a low of Rs 348.10 on BSE. This company is seen reporting a 52.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth and 2.6 per cent sequential fall in net profit to Rs 753.8 crore for the quarter ended December 31.

The company had reported a net profit of of Rs 773.8 core in the previous quarter, and Rs 495 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.