New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS): Telecom major Bharti Airtel has returned to profits as it reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 853.6 crore for the quarter ended December.

During the same quarter of last fiscal, the company had reported a net loss of Rs 1,035.3 crore.

The telco posted its highest ever consolidated quarterly revenue from operations at Rs 26,517.8 crore, 24.2 per cent higher than the 21,343.6 crore reported in the year ago period.

The company had a net exceptional gain of Rs 4,559.9 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2020, comprising of charge on account of re-assessment of contractual, regulatory levies and taxes of Rs 3,159.6 crore.

Its mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) was at Rs 166 during the third quarter of FY21, aginst Rs 135 in Q3 FY20.

In a statement, Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, India & South Asia, said: "Despite the unprecedented volatility that we have confronted through the year, we delivered another strong performance this quarter. This consistency in performance was across every part of our portfolio, as reflected in market share growth across all our business segments."

"This has been made possible due to our agility, the continued re-orientation of our business model and our relentless focus on what truly matters serving our customers. The main highlight of the quarter was the 13 Million 4G customers we added in our Wireless business. As a result, we grew our revenues by 25 per cent over the same period last year and margins expanded," he added.