India's leading telecoms service provider, Bharti Airtel has reported a 37 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 762.2 crore during the first quarter of the financial year till June 2012. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,215.2 crore during the same quarter of the previous financial year. Total revenues of the firm rose 14 per cent to Rs 19,350 crore during the first quarter of the year compared to Rs 16,975 crore in the same quarter in the previous year. The company recorded a 31.5 per cent growth in its African operations and 44.2 per cent increase in mobile data revenues from India.

Airtel might be planning to issue new shares to the public or institutional investors in order to reduce its debt. A report in The Economic Times indicated that the company is considering four options to raise funds.

If the company issues new shares, it will be the first time since 2002. A new report had said that the company is planning a follow-on offer of shares and external commercial borrowing. Any decision will first be approved by the board of directors of the company. Bharti has roped in HSBC and Standard Chartered for the possible share sale, according to the report.

The shares of the company fell 4.4 per cent to Rs 280.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company announced its disappointing first quarter results. On the other hand, the shares of the company fell 4.49 per cent to Rs 280.60.