Bharti Airtel Q2 net profit slips 5% on higher costs

Mumbai: India`s top telecoms operator Bharti Airtel Ltd reported a nearly 5 percent fall in second-quarter profit on Tuesday hit by higher costs.

Consolidated net profit fell to 14.61 billion rupees ($218.80 million) for the three months to Sept. 30 from 15.36 billion a year earlier, Bharti said in a statement.

Analysts had expected the wireless operator to report a profit of 13.69 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales rose 3.4 percent to 246.52 billion rupees.