Tata Communications Q3 profits decline by 66%

Tata Communications reported a 66% decrease in quarterly profit. The net profit attributable to its shareholders fell to Rs 58.5 crore in the third quarter ended December 2019, from Rs 173.8 crore a year earlier.

The year-ago comparable period of the third quarter of September to December 2019 had a one-time AFA (access facilitation charges) benefit in both revenue and cost, the company said in an investor presentation.

International long-distance operators or internet service providers (ISP) pay AFA  to the owner of the cable landing station to access international bandwidth in a submarine cable.

Revenue declined by 1% to a meager 0.3% to Rs 4,242.7 crore.

“The outlook of business continues to improve, and we have delivered steady growth despite Q3 being a seasonally weak quarter. The data business continues to drive growth and profitability and strong performance across all segments…,” Pratibha Advani CFO Tata Communications was quoted as saying in a company statement.

The company’s data business vertical grew by 2.8%.

Tata Communications recently roped in Amur Swaminathan Lakshminarayanan as the managing director and chief executive officer of the company.

The company has also partnered with technology networking giant Cisco to develop a cloud-based customer service solutions platform called Cisco Webex Contact Center. It has also clubbed with Professional Golfers’ Association European Tour to launch a competition for startups to spur technological innovations in the sport.

In November, it teamed up with global technology giant Microsoft to work on connected car applications and enable automotive manufacturers to offer secure driving experiences.