Bharti Airtel Q1 net profit down 30.8% on higher expenses

Bharti Airtel said net sales rose 7.9 per cent

Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's largest telecom network operator, reported a 30.8 per cent fall in net profit for the fiscal first quarter, due to adverse foreign exchange impact in Nigeria, but still came in ahead of analyst estimates.

Consolidated net profit fell to Rs 1,462 crore ($217.69 million) in the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 2,113 crore last year, the company said.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of Rs 1,159 crore, according to Reuters data.

Bharti Airtel, headed by Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal, said net sales rose 7.9 per cent to Rs 25,547 crore, the highest ever since 2002, helped by new customers signing up the company's 3G and 4G data services.

Photograph: Rupak De Choudhuri/Reuters