Shares of telecom company Indus Towers rose two percent in the morning session on January 24 after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended December (Q3) of the current financial year (FY25).
Indus Towers reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,003 crore for the quarter, registering a growth of 159.9 percent from Rs 1,541 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, led by significant collection of dues from Vodafone Idea and strong tower additions.
The company saw its revenue from operations grow by 4.8 per cent to Rs 7,547 crore from Rs 7,199 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
At 9.30 am, Indus Towers shares pared some gains to trade at Rs 370 per share on the NSE, up nearly a per cent.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2024, Indus’ average sharing factor stood at 1.65 per tower. During the quarter, total lean colocation additions rose to 132.
Lean colocation additions stood at 11,492. “We are pleased to see that our ability to retain a dominant share in the rollouts of our key customers has yielded dividends in the form of strong tower and colocation additions, reiterating our superior execution capabilities and customer-centric approach,” Indus Towers Managing Director and CEO Prachur Shah said in a statement.
International brokerage Citi Research maintained its ‘buy’ rating on Indus Towers with a target price of Rs 485, citing strong Q3 performance driven by past dues, tenancy additions and strong free cash flow (FCF).
From the previous session’s closing price of Rs 366.6 per share, this represents a massive gain of 32 per cent. The company secured a dominant share in the rollout of Vi, thereby driving meaningful tenancy growth.
Citi Research expects the firm’s FCF to remain strong in Q4, potentially generating Rs 20 per share in H2 FY25, which could be fully distributed as dividend.
