Bharti Infratel declares Q4 results and dividend

Bharti Infratel announced consolidated results for the quarter ended March 2019 and declared interim dividend of Rs. 7.50 per share.

The company's consolidated reported revenues of Rs. 3,600.3 crore in Q4FY19 as against Rs. 3,662.2 crore in Q4FY18, posting a YoY drop of 1.69 per cent, said the company’s earnings release on the NSE. EBITDA stood at Rs. 1,534 crore in Q4FY19 in comparison to Rs. 1,605.6 crore in Q4FY18, registering a fall of 4.45 per cent. As a result, EBITDA margin dipped to 42.6 per cent in Q4FY19 from 43.8 per cent in Q4FY18. EBIT or operating profit plummeted to Rs. 941.3 crore in Q4FY19 from Rs. 1,020.2 crore in Q4FY18, thereby sinking 7.73 per cent. Consequently, EBIT margin spiralled to 26.1 per cent in Q4FY19 from 27.9 per cent in Q4FY18. PAT, on the other hand, mostly remained flat at Rs. 607.6 crore in Q4FY19 from Rs. 606 crore in Q4FY18. Thus, net profit margin rose marginally to 16.9 per cent in Q4FY19 from 16.5 per cent in Q4FY18.

On the valuation front, market capitalization dropped to Rs. 58,000 crore in Q4FY19 from Rs. 62,200 crore in Q4FY18. The EV/EBITDA multiple (LTM) rose to 9.12x in Q4FY19 from 8.87x in Q4FY18. EPS remained flat at Rs. 3.29 in Q4FY19. The P/E ratio stood at 23.23x in Q4FY19 as against 24.92x in Q4FY18.

The company recorded operating free cash flows of Rs. 1,154 crore in Q4FY19 versus Rs. 1,016 crore in Q4FY19, posting a growth of 14 per cent YoY.

The company has declared a second interim dividend of Rs. 7.50 per equity share for the financial year 2018-2019. The record date for determining the eligibility of the shareholders for receiving this payment has been fixed on Wednesday, May 8, 2019.

Bharti Infratel is a major player in India in the Telecom services industry. It is a chief provider of tower and related infrastructure as it deploys, owns and manages telecom towers and communication structures for numerous mobile operators. Its consolidated portfolio comprises of 92,000 telecom towers. It enjoys a nationwide presence with operations spanning across all 22 telecommunications circles in India.

On Thursday, the shares of Bharti Infratel opened at Rs. 290.00 and hit a high and low of Rs. 296.80 and Rs. 287.50, respectively. At 10:45 am, the stock was trading at Rs. 291.95, down 3.38 per cent.