New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) Telecom giant Bharti Airtel Thursday reported 31.46 percent decline in its net income for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs.1,401 crore as against Rs.2,044 crore during the like period of the previous fiscal.

The company cited the losses incurred in its African operations and one-time payment done for acquiring third generation (3G) spectrum licences as the reasons behind the slump.

The operator bought 3G licence for 13 circles out of 22 circles across the country last year while it became the world's fifth largest mobile operator after it acquired Kuwait's Zain Telecom's Africa operations for $10.7 billion last year.

After tax, losses of the company's Africa operations for the quarter under review were Rs.1,419 million.

The total revenue for the quarter under review, however, rose 51.32 percent at Rs.16,265 crore as against Rs.10,749 crore for the like period of the last fiscal, said the company.

"There are big structural defects in the Africa telecom industry, which lead to very high costs of doing business," said Akhil Gupta, deputy chief executive, Bharti group.

The overall customer base of the company currently stands at 220.9 million across 19 countries.

The telecom operator also said that its average revenue per user for the quarter declined 12 percent to Rs.194.

The company has recommended a dividend of Re.1 per equity share of Rs.5.

At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the shares of the company were 0.70 percent lower to trade at Rs.367.