Bharti Airtel shares hit six-year high

Mumbai: Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd on Tuesday hit a six-year high after the company said it has entered into exclusive talks with France’s Orange to sell its subsidiaries in Africa.

In intra-day trade, the stock touched a high of Rs.448.70, a level last seen on 1 October 2009. It gained as much as 5%, the sharpest gain since 29 May.
Year-to-date, the stock is up 28%.

“Orange and Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) have entered into an exclusive agreement to explore the possible acquisition by Orange of Airtel’s subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone,” Bharti Airtel said in a notice to BSE on Tuesday.

There is no certainty of any binding agreement as a result of these discussions, it added.

As of March 2015, the company has consolidated debt of Rs.66,367.20 crore.

A disposal would raise funds as the New Delhi-based mobile phone operator, which is India’s largest, invests to counter heavy competition for customers in its home market. Bharti sold phone tower operating businesses in five African countries for more than $1.3 billion earlier this month, helping it reduce debt and cut costs, Bloomberg reported.

The company will post its June quarter earnings on 4 August. According to 24 Bloomberg analysts, the company may post a net profit of Rs.1,586.60 crore, while net sales will be at Rs.23,328.9 crore.