Mobile ARPU dropped to INR187 (US$3.80), down from INR199 during the same period in the previous year. The operator has cited a number of reasons for falling profits, including increased tax provisions and interest expenses, as well as repayments on its 3G licence.

Net profit for the quarter was INR10.1 billion (US$200 million), a drop of 22.4% compared to Q410. Revenue however was up year-on-year by 17.1%, reaching INR184.8 billion. Profit therefore fell short of analyst forecasts which predicted it at INR13.6 billion, but revenue just exceeded the projected INR184.5 billion.

In fact, revenue for both Airtel’s India/South Asia and Africa businesses was up. Respectively, the businesses achieved 11.1% and 16% year-on-year growth, with revenue of INR101.8 billion and US$1.1 billion. Q411 marked the first time that Airtel’s Africa business generated positive operating cash flow, passing 50 million subscribers.

Overall, the operator’s global subscriber numbers grew by 17% year-on-year, reaching just under 233 million. Subscriber growth was 16% in India/South Asia, reaching 182 million, while in Africa growth of 21% took the total to just under 51 million.

The firm has acquired stock in a number of others – among them Telmex, Telmex Internacional, StarOne and Net Servicos – and has also reacquired some of its own stock. This was cited by the firm as a key cause for the rise in net debt. Depreciation of the peso was given as a reason for the decrease in net income.

Despite this, the firm’s EBITDA for Q411 was up 3.9% from the same period in the previous year, reaching MXN64.5 billion. This drove operating profits up to MXN38.3 billion, an increase of 15.1%. Revenue meanwhile was MXN182 billion for the quarter, an increase of 12.4% on Q410.

The operator saw net additions of 304,000 in Q411, with 241.8 million subscribers at year-end 2011 – a 7.4% increase over 2010. It also acquired 1.6 million postpaid customers, pushing its total postpaid additions to 6.1 million for 2011 – a 23.7% rise on 2010.

In a statement, the firm noted: “Our strategy has been increasingly oriented towards developing a greater presence in the postpaid sector and seeking out only the best prepaid clients.”

With a 15.4% rise in Q411, revenue from wireless operations was substantial, representing nearly two thirds of the firm’s total revenue. America Movil is active in numerous South and Central American countries, as well as various nations in the Caribbean. During Q411 it added Costa Rica to this list, as well as gaining full ownership of Digicel Honduras.

Although the recent licence cancellations have prompted several foreign operators to lower the value of their Indian businesses, Batelco claims that it was looking to sell its stake in STel “as early as April 2011”, suggesting that licensing issues were not the driving factor behind this decision. The sale was agreed in Q411.

Batelco has stated that the sale of its holding is part of “an earlier understanding with its Indian partner to exit, given the circumstances surrounding the 2G probe in India over the past twelve months.”  The firm has also confirmed that it played no part in obtaining STel’s licence, “nor had any knowledge of the events surrounding the granting of the 2G licences in January 2008.”

“As Batelco continues to grow and diversify its operations, we remain interested in other investment opportunities for the Batelco Group that will enable us to participate in the Indian telecom market. We are actively exploring all options in this respect over the coming months,” the firm stated.

Etisalat’s Indian operations are tied to financial statements worth AED3.04 billion (US$827 million) on which the operator is planning to take out an impairment charge – a move which will have a net impact of around AED1.02 billion (around US$277 million) on the operator’s consolidated net profit.

Etisalat entered the Indian market via a joint venture with local partner Swan Telecom, which obtained a licence during the 2008 process along with seven other firms. The startup operator, Etisalat DB, is 45% owned by Etisalat, which has stated that it is reviewing its “strategic options” in India.

While it has confirmed that it is looking into the “legal consequences” of having its licence cancelled, Etisalat is actively distancing itself from the issue, noting that Swan Telecom was the party which obtained the licence originally.

“The Supreme Court decision relates to events that occurred in January 2008, well before December 2008 when Etisalat invested in Swan. Etisalat has no knowledge of what occurred in the licence application process for Swan, far less did it have any involvement”, said Etisalat in a statement.

It is not the only foreign operator to be affected by the ruling – its Norwegian rival Telenor has similarly been forced to revalue its Indian operations following the cancellation of its licence. Its Indian operations (Uninor) have accrued an impairment loss of NOK4.1 billion (US$712 million), pushing Telenor into the red for Q411.

Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and CEO of Telenor, stated that the firm would attempt “to protect our investments in all possible manners, and will consider every option prior to any further investments.”

Across Q411, Telenor’s net loss was NOK1.9 billion – the same period in the previous year saw it make a profit of NOK2.1 billion. While the firm did make a profit of NOK7.9 billion for the full year, this was a substantial drop from the previous year’s NOK14.3 billion profit. Revenue however was up from NOK94.8 billion to NOK98.5 billion.

The court declared the licensing process to be “totally arbitrary and unconstitutional”. One of the case’s petitioners, Subramanian Swamy, noted: “This is a major step forward for us in the war against corruption.”

Since the licences were issued, eight new operators have begun offering services in India, among them Telenor subsidiary Uninor, Loop Telecom, Etisalat DB and Tata Teleservices. All of the 2G licensees will be required to shut down their operations after four months.

Licensing controversy has dogged India for some time now, with many of the licence winners receiving vast payouts for stakes in their mobile operations. Among the buyers were international heavyweights such as Telenor and Etisalat, both of which have previously been implicated in licensing scandals – an involvement which each operator attributed to its local partner.

Telenor has stated that it has “yet to review the ruling and will be able to comment further once we have a chance to review it”, while Etisalat has gone further to distance itself from the original licensing process, stating that: “The Supreme Court decision relates to events that occurred in January 2008, well before December 2008 when Etisalat invested in [local operator] Swan. Etisalat has no knowledge of what occurred in the licence application process for Swan, far less did it have any involvement.”

Such an extreme ruling was somewhat unexpected, with many industry observers expecting that an independent inquiry into the licensing process on a case-by-case basis would have been more likely as this would have permitted certain operators to continue providing services. However, the Supreme Court has now tasked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) with creating a new auctioning process.

The regulator has invited industry input but set a strict deadline of February 15^th. It is widely expected that the licensing process will be similar to 2010’s 3G auctions, which drew in around US$14 billion for the government. However, the process is facing resistance from operators angry at being stripped of their licences.

Both Telenor and Russian firm Sistema (which owns MTS India) have stated that they will resist the court’s ruling and intend to continue providing services. Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said that "the ruling is a very serious attack on our investments, (which are) based on the licence framework that was spelt out in 2008."