India's Unitech Q3 net profit falls 37 pct

NEW DELHI: Unitech Ltd, India's second-biggest real estate firm, on Monday reported a 37 percent fall in quarterly profit as high property prices and borrowing costs hurt demand.

Unitech said consolidated net profit fell to 1.11 billion rupees ($24.3 million) for its fiscal third-quarter ended December, from 1.76 billion rupees a year earlier.

Net sales fell to 6.60 billion rupees from 7.74 billion rupees a year earlier.

Unitech also has a mobile telecoms joint venture in India with Norway's Telenor.

The joint venture is among five telecom operators that are part of a probe into whether some firms received favourable treatment in the granting of telecoms licences.

A state auditor found irregularities in the licence grant process in 2007/08, which it has said possibly cost the state 39 billion in revenue.

Unitech has denied any wrongdoing.