Bharti Airtel Q2 Results: Profit Misses Estimate On Additional Tax Provision

Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s second quarter net profit rose but missed analysts' estimates.

The country's second largest telecom company's net profit increased 37.7% to Rs 2,093.2 crore, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday. That compares with a Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 3,205.2 crore.

The telecom company said it created an additional tax provision for Rs 226.3 crore, following a Supreme Court ruling that held that licence fee paid at regular intervals should be classified as capital expenditure.

The interest of Rs 1,350 crore on the above is considered as an exceptional item in the income statement.

"This decision does not alter the total amount of variable licence fee allowed as deduction over the licence period but creates a timing difference wherein later years would have a higher deduction," it said.

In the previous quarter, the telecom service provider reported a foreign exchange loss of Rs 3,416 crore as an exceptional item in the first quarter of financial year 2024, on account of statutory changes made by the Central Bank of Nigeria.