OREANDA-NEWS. Consolidated revenue from operations increased by 14% to Rs. 51,117 million (USD 855 million @avg. Fx of INR/USD 59.78) in Q1 FY15 as compared to Rs. 44,980 million (USD 806 million @avg. Fx of INR/USD 55.83) in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated EBITDA increased by 9% to Rs. 7,127 million (USD 119 million @avg. Fx of INR/USD 59.78) in Q1 FY15 compared to Rs.6,516 million (USD 117 million @avg. Fx of INR/USD 55.83) in the corresponding quarter last year.

Revenue from operations for the core business improved 12% at Rs.45,186 million (USD 756 million) from Rs.40,188 million (USD 720 million) during the corresponding quarter a year ago. Data services continue to be the primary growth driver because of an uptake in demand from global enterprise customers for network and data centre services. Transformation services for global carriers also witnessed an upswing in demand. The economies of scale from the underlying infrastructure and operating capabilities are translating into improved Core business profitability, with Q1 FY15 EBITDA up 7% YoY and Q1 FY15 Profit Before Tax (PBT) and Exceptional Items up 192% YoY.

The start-up business, comprising primarily of Neotel, posted a 24% increase in revenues at Rs. 5,931 million (ZAR 1,046 million @ avg. Fx of INR/ZAR 5.67), as compared to Rs. 4,791 million (ZAR 813 million @ avg. Fx of INR/ZAR 5.89) in Q1 FY14. The start-up business EBITDA increased by 23% to Rs. 1,415 million (ZAR 250 million @ avg. Fx of INR/ZAR 5.67) in Q1 FY15 compared to Rs. 1,154 million (ZAR 196 million @ avg. Fx of INR/ZAR 5.89)

Commenting on the results, Vinod Kumar, MD and CEO, Tata Communications, says, “Tata Communications continues to maintain its growth momentum and build on its strategic evolution into advanced managed services.

The improvement in global demand, our comprehensive data services portfolio and an emphasis on operational excellence holds us in good stead. In the coming quarters, we will continue to calibrate our performance against customer expectations, to deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders.”

Sanjay Baweja, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Communications says, “Our Q1 results have set a good momentum for the year ahead and we are confident that we will be able to sustain this trend in the coming quarters. The business continues to benefit from improved asset utilisation, greater leverage on costs and uptrend in our newer services.”

Q1 FY2015 business highlights

Tata Communications announces next steps in proposed Neotel and Vodacom transaction: The shareholders of Neotel and Vodacom SA favourably concluded an agreement on the commercial structure and terms to proceed for Vodacom to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Neotel valued at an enterprise value of ZAR 7.0 billion. The structure of the deal and its commercial terms remain subject to regulatory and competition authority approvals.

Tata Communications' jamvee™ Unified Communications platform takes interoperability to another level: Tata Communications launched the latest version of jamvee™ - its next generation Unified Communications platform that is designed to bring together any client software and device on a single platform. This will foster easier intra and inter-company collaboration for employees, suppliers and customers via any combination of audio, video or messaging besides facilitating content sharing in groups - across any device or through a browser.

Tata Communications partners with Kaltura to provide next generation online video and content delivery platform: Tata Communications has announced a partnership with Kaltura that will combine its next generation Content Delivery Network (CDN) with Kaltura's leading open source online video platform. The integrated offering will enable media companies, enterprises and educational institutions to manage the entire video process, from acquisition to delivery, through a single easy-to-use interface.

Tata Communications inaugurates its 44th, state-of-the-art, data centre in New Delhi: The launch of this data centre positions the Company as a truly pan-India player in the data centre business with continued commitment to growth in this sector. Centrally managed, these data centres provide customers with optimal performance, reduced total cost of ownership, security and effective utilisation of resources. The Company plans to invest more than USD 200 million towards doubling data centre capacity in India from 500,000 sq. ft. to 1,000,000 sq. ft. over a period of three years.