Mumbai, Apr 24 (IANS): Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel on Wednesday reported a marginal rise in its consolidated net profit during the quarter ended March 31 on a year-on-year basis.

The consolidated net profit of the company during the fourth quarter rose to Rs 608 crore against Rs 606 crore reported in the year ago period, Bharti Infratel said in a statement.

For the full fiscal, the company's consolidated net profit was flat at Rs 2,494 crore.

"The year gone by saw major consolidation in the Indian telecom industry with four operators ceasing to exist either on account of mergers or outright shut down of operations," company Chairman Akhil Gupta said.

"Between Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers, approximately 20 per cent of opening co-locations were lost during the year translating to approximately 75,000 co-locations on an overall basis and approximately 40,000 co-locations on consolidated basis, mainly due to merger of Vodafone and Idea."

The Board of Directors declared a second interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per equity share of Rs 10 each for financial year 2018-19.

"The merger process of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers is on track and we hope that it would be completed in the next few months," Gupta added.