Tata Communications consolidated net profit increased by 424% in the December quarter. The company made a profit of Rs 236 crore in the December 2024 quarter. In the same period a year ago this Tata Group company had made a profit of Rs 45 crore. Tata Communications on Wednesday posted a multi-fold growth in its consolidated net profit for just-ended December quarter to Rs 257 crore as compared to Rs 45 crore logged in the same period the previous year which included the effects of a one-time provision. The company said that the Q3FY24 numbers had included both continued and discontinued operations. Tata Communications On Q3 Results Tata Communications MD and CEO A S Lakshminarayanan said he is optimistic about business prospects based on tech transformations and the need for companies to leverage AI and other technology initiatives. Part of the Tata Group the company provides core and next-gen connectivity cloud hosting security solutions and media services. The gross revenue for Q3FY25 stood at Rs 5798 crore 2.9 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Q3 has been a satisfactory quarter with strong growth in digital revenues improved margins and enhanced free cash flow. We are advancing well in our review of subsidiaries with a clear focus on optimising their performance and unlocking value as demonstrated in the case of Tata Communications Payments Solutions Limited Lakshminarayanan said. He further said that in the world of AI digital infrastructure will be even more critical and added that the companys investments in the digital fabric will hold it in good stead. Tata Communications CEO On Future Plans Kabir Ahmed Shakir Chief Financial Officer of Tata Communications said: The strategic actions to streamline and make our business future-ready has begun paying off. Over and above the divestiture of our payment solutions business we continue to pursue other monetisation opportunities and strategic evaluation of assets. In November last year Tata Communications divested its entire 100 per cent stake in its ATM business TCPSL (Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd) in a Rs 330- crore deal. The company explained that the Q3 FY24 net profit of Rs 45 crore was after considering a one-time provision of Rs 185 crore towards income tax basis a Supreme Court ruling on the nature of licence fee as capital in nature and not revenue expenditure. ...in this whole (fiscal) year so far...the core connectivity growth is somewhat muted because of the number of cable cuts that we had...but despite that weve been able to get our margins onto a proper trajectory because of more disciplined execution on all the digital products and the company in terms of management of its costs Lakshminarayanan told PTI. He said the company expects a healthy order booking -- like that of Q1 and Q2 -- to reflect in the upcoming quarters. Asked about the outlook he said that while the company does not provide guidance digital and AI imperatives are a positive. The uncertainties of geopolitical nature continue but overall the business sentiment has been fairly steady particularly in the Western markets he pointed out. (With inputs from PTI)