OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2012. Tata Communications announced its financial results for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2012.

Q2 FY13

Consolidated gross revenues showed an increase of 27 percent at Rs42,710 million (USD 774 million at average forex of INR/USD 55.21) in Q2 FY13 from Rs33,736 million (USD 738 million at average forex of INR/USD 45.74) in the corresponding quarter last year. Core business revenues were up by 30 percent at Rs37,840 million (USD 685 million) from Rs29,079 million (USD 636 million) in Q2 FY12.

Global Voice Services (GVS) continued to post an increase in revenues and carried a total of 15.3 billion voice minutes during the quarter as compared to 13.1 billion minutes in the same quarter last year. Global Data Services (GDS) also posted a revenue growth of 25 percent to Rs16,703 million (USD 303 million) in Q2 FY13 from Rs13,321 million (USD 291 million) in Q2 FY12.

The company’s start-up businesses, comprising primarily of Neotel, witnessed a 5 percent rise in revenues to Rs4,870 million (ZAR 729 million at average forex of INR/ZAR 6.68), up from Rs4,657 million (ZAR 724 million at average forex of INR/ZAR 6.43) in Q2 FY12. Growth in operating profit maintained its momentum with EBITDA margins standing at 10.6 percent in Q2 FY13 as against 2 percent in Q2 FY12.

H1 FY13

Consolidated gross revenues stood at Rs83,784 million (USD 1,535 million at average forex of INR/USD 54.60) in H1 FY13 from Rs66,307 million (USD 1,466 million at average forex of INR/USD 45.23) last year; showing an increase of 26 percent. The core business delivered revenue growth of 28 percent at Rs74,305 million (USD 1,361 million) from Rs57,842 million (USD 1,279 million) in the corresponding period last year.

The GVS business registered a total of 31billion voice minutes, thereby growing faster than the industry, from 27 billion minutes in H1 FY12. GDS revenues posted a growth of 26 percent at Rs32,682 million (USD 599 million) in H1 FY13 as compared to Rs25,961million (USD 574 million) in H1 FY12.

In the start-up business, revenues stood 12 percent higher at Rs9,479 million (ZAR 1,421 million at average forex of INR/ZAR 6.67) from Rs8,465 million (ZAR 1,302 million at average forex of INR/ZAR 6.50) in H1 FY12. EBITDA margins at Neotel stood at 11.7 percent in H1 FY13 as opposed to 5.8 percent in the comparable period last year.

Commenting on the performance of Q2 and H1 FY13, Vinod Kumar, MD and group CEO, Tata Communications, said, “We have sustained top-line momentum in an environment that has continued to be challenging, globally. The size and scale of our core business has been growing consistently, benefiting from a combination of our investments in global infrastructure and our innovative approach to clients’ needs across business lines and geographies. We are enthused by the potential we see in the emerging markets and are committed to developing a leadership business in these regions. Our efforts to drive sales at Neotel are bearing visible results while our initiatives at streamlining operations have fundamentally strengthened the business and its ability to deliver strong results.”

Corporate highlights from the past three months

Tata Communications Banking InfraSolutions (TCBIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Communications, recently signed a contract to deploy and manage nearly 14,000 ATMs for all public sector banks across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar islands and Andhra Pradesh. With this, TCBIL manages almost 27,000 ATMs across the country and has earned the distinction of India’s largest managed ATM services provider. It also manages over 55 percent of POS traffic in India and over 550,000 card transactions daily.

Tata Communications was chosen by Cargotec, the world's leading provider of cargo handling solutions for ships, ports, terminals and local distribution, to deliver Wide Area Network connectivity to over 150 Cargotec sites globally through Tata Communications' round-the-world fibre optic cable network. The agreement also allows Cargotec to extend its network wherever the business grows.

Tata Communications appointed Rangu Salgame as the chief executive officer of its growth ventures business. Mr Salgame joined Tata Communications’ Global Management Council and will lead the company’s global high-growth businesses with an initial portfolio that includes data centre, cloud, cyber security, media and entertainment.

Neotel, in conjunction with the Cape Town International Convention Centre, launched South Africa’s second public TelePresence room.

Awards and recognition

Tata Communications was conferred with the 2012 Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Managed Enterprise Video Service Provider of the Year award. This award is presented each year to the company that exhibits excellence in growth strategy and implementation, degree of innovation with new products and technologies, leadership in customer value and market penetration.

Tata Communications is positioned in the challenger quadrant on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Global Network Service Providers, 2012. The company believes that it has a compelling portfolio of network as well as collaboration and managed services. Tata Communications has developed a world-class infrastructure and competence in service delivery, support and coverage in major as well as difficult geographies. The company remains poised to provide cost-effective, innovative and top-notch connectivity solutions to enterprises, anywhere their business takes them across the globe.

Tata Communications received the V&D100 Top International Long Distance Provider award for the Year 2011-12, for the fourth consecutive year.

Tata Communications also won the Best Global Wholesale Offering Award at the 2011 Capacity Awards, for the third year in a row.