Bharti Airtel slides to over 5-year lows

Falling for the fifth day in a row on Thursday, shares of Bharti Airtel on Thursday plunged over 6 per cent, bringing down its market capitalisation below Rs 1 lakh crore, amid the company's net profit declining by 37 per cent for the quarter ended June 30.

Shares of the company settled 6.4 per cent lower at Rs 256.85 on BSE, the lowest closing in over five years.

Intra-day, the stock was 7.25 per cent down to Rs 254.50.

At NSE, the scrip closed at Rs 257.20, down 6.25 per cent.

In the process, the company's market value declined by Rs 6,665 crore to Rs 97,539 crore.

The stock was ejected out of the list of top 10 companies by market capitalisation, after reporting below market expectations results yesterday.

The scrip was the biggest loser on the Sensex, which closed 40 points lower.

"Bharti Airtel reported disappointing performance for Q1 FY2013, with net profit declining for tenth straight quarter due to higher operating costs," Angel Broking said in a report.

According to media reports, a number of brokerages have cut the company's rating after the company announced its earnings.

Bharti Airtel's net profit declined by 37 per cent to Rs 762.2 crore in the April-June, 2012 quarter as stiff competition squeezed margins.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 1,215.2 crore in the same period last fiscal.