Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), on Monday, reported widening of net loss at Rs.643.9 crore for the January-March 2013 quarter, impacted mainly by one-time “exit cost” as it shut down operations across 13 telecom circles during the period. The company, which operates under MTS brand, had posted a net loss of Rs.527.8 crore in year-ago period.
SSTL won spectrum in eight telecom circles — Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal — in the March auctions, after 21 of its 22 permits were cancelled as a part of Supreme Court order in February 2012.
The company’s revenue for the first quarter declined by 14 per cent to Rs.352 crore from Rs.407.2 crore.
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However, operating loss (operating income before depreciation and amortisation) narrowed to Rs.211.3 crore from Rs.362.1 crore a year earlier.
President and CEO Vsevolod Rozanov told reporters here that this was the lowest quarterly OIBDA loss recorded by the company in the last three years as a result of “cost optimisation, strict control over marketing and other expenditure and on account of operational efficiencies”.
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Chief Financial Officer Sergey Savchenko said the company had a Rs.170 crore write-off on account of “one-time exit cost due to closure of operations in 13 circles.”