Business Desk
Idea Cellular Limited (Idea) today announced its unaudited results (limited review) for the 1st quarter ended June 30, 2008.

Idea ended the quarter with a subscriber base of 27.19 mn, adding 3.19 mn subscribers during the period. In its current 11 service areas of operation, Idea consolidated its subscriber market share from 9.4 % at the end of March 08, to 9.6 % at the end of June 08.

The consolidated revenues for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 of Rs. 21,781 mn grew by 47.4% on a YoY basis and by 9.7% on a QoQ basis. The EBITDA of Rs 7,203 mn grew by 40.2% on a YoY basis and by 6.9% on a QoQ basis.

The net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 was Rs. 2,631 mn, down by 4.9% compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2008. During this quarter, loss on account of foreign exchange fluctuation was Rs. 152 mn against a gain of Rs. 329 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 and a loss of Rs. 27 mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. EBITDA, PBT and PAT for the quarter ending June 30, 2008, were negatively impacted by Rs. 299 mn due to the expiry of the period of 2% concession in license fee for 7 service areas.

A leading GSM mobile services operator, Idea Cellular has licenses to operate in all 22 service areas of India with commercial operations in 11 service areas. With a customer base of over 27 million, Idea Cellular runs operations in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) & Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra & Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Idea holds spectrum for Mumbai, Bihar, Orissa, Tamilnadu (including Chennai) and Karnataka, and licenses for the remaining 6 service areas. With the planned launch of services in Mumbai, Bihar & Jharkhand, Orissa and Tamilnadu (including Chennai), all before the end of the calendar year, and after the proposed amalgamation of Spice Communications (Punjab and Karnataka service areas), Idea's footprint will soon cover approximately 90% of India's telephony potential. Idea is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India.

Idea Cellular is a part of the US $ 28 billion Aditya Birla Group, India's first truly multinational corporation. The group has a market cap in excess of US $ 17 billion, operates in 20 countries, and is anchored by 100,000 employees belonging to 25 nationalities.