Bharti Airtel Q1 Profit Up 40%, Beats Estimates

Mumbai: Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile carrier by subscribers, posted a better-than-expected 40 per cent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by strong consumer demand for voice and data services.

Bharti Airtel's net profit rose to Rs 1,554 crore ($244 million) for its first quarter ended June 30, from Rs 1,109 crore a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday.

Analysts on average expected the company, which operates in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, to post earnings of Rs 1,355 crore, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Bharti Airtel, headed by billionaire Sunil Mittal, said total revenue rose 3.1 per cent to Rs 23,671 crore.

($1 = Rs 63.7079)