Financial analysts in India predicted Bharti Airtel would record its first loss in more than 15 years for the three months to end-March, as the impact of a price war in its home market continues to erode its bottom line.

The Economic Times reported comments from brokerage Kotak Securities tipping the operator’s earnings to slip into the red with an INR3.8 billion ($58.4 million) net loss for the quarter – its fiscal Q4.

This compared to an INR3.73 billion profit in the same period in 2017, and is a continuation of a steady decline in earnings since the entry of low-cost competitor Reliance Jio in India during 2016. Bharti Airtel’s last quarterly loss was in the three months to end-December 2002, the newspaper said.

Although the company is tipped to report decreased revenue and net earnings in its home market, Kotak Securities noted its Africa unit was likely to post improved figures.

Jio impact
The projected hit to Bharti Airtel’s India performance comes amid huge change in the country’s mobile landscape, attributed to the entrance of Reliance Jio and subsequent price war. In November 2017, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said the country’s operators had already written off $50 billion of investment since the challenger’s launch.

In moves partly attributed to intense competition, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are in the process of merging, Aircel filed for bankruptcy and Reliance Communications is attempting to sell-off assets to reduce its massive debt pile while also fighting off creditor litigation.