Airtel bats for another round of tariff hike

Bharti Airtel MD Gopal Vittal on Monday batted for another industry-wide tariff hike, arguing that returns on capital employed (ROCE) in the sector continue to lag in India.

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In the earnings statement on Monday, Vittal said that the company's balance sheet remains solid, supported by cash generation and continued deleveraging.

During the July-September quarter, Bharti Airtel said it prepaid another tranche of Rs 8,465 crore of high-cost spectrum dues.

"At the same time, we believe that industry needs further tariff repair for sustained investments given that ROCE for India is still only 11 per cent," Vittal said.

In the past two years or so, telecom operators in India hiked tariffs twice by a cumulative 40 per cent.

The telecom operator reported that its consolidated revenues for the July-September quarter were at Rs 41,473 crore, up 12 on a yearly basis, and 7.7 per cent on a quarterly basis.