Idea net up over 86

Idea Cellular Ltd said on Thursday its quarterly net profit surged 86 per cent after it was able to raise call prices in the worlds second-biggest mobile phone market.

Idea,part of the metals-to-financials Aditya Birla conglomerate,said consolidated net profit rose to Rs 4.48 billion for its fiscal second quarter to September 30,from Rs 2.41 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average expected the company,nearly a fifth owned by Malaysias Axiata,to report a net profit of Rs 4.22 billion.

Airtel,Vodafone and Idea have cut discounts and raised some call prices this year after several of their smaller rivals were forced to exit or scale back by a court order.