Idea Cellular up 3% on hiking mobile data rates in Delhi

Idea Cellular has rallied nearly 3%, or Rs 5, to Rs 179 levels on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) around 12 noon on reports that the company has hiked mobile data rates by up to 100% for pre-paid customers in the NCR region.

According to a Times of India (TOI) report, the country's third largest telecom operator has doubled the price for some 2G plans, while 3G will be costlier by about 33%.

Meanwhile, the company is also planning a capex of around Rs 5,500 crore in the current fiscal to strengthen its infrastructure, reports suggest.

For the fourth quarter ended March 2015, Idea Cellular reported a 66% year-on-year jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,077.7 crore for the fourth quarter. Revenues, too, beat estimates growing by 22% in the fourth quarter over the corresponding quarter last year to Rs 8,541.3 crore.

"Despite all rationality demonstrated by telcos at various events, we remain guarded about Reliance-JIO launch. We believe this could increase competitive intensity in high margin data business. We like Idea in Telecom space on back of strong EBITDA margin expansion along with constant improvement on KPIs (key performance indicators) front," said IndiaNivesh Securities in a recent report on the company.

IDEA Cellular Limited