Indian operator Reliance Communications saw its profits fall sharply in the quarter to 30 September 2012, with its results impacted by increased financing costs.

Against a backdrop of intense competition in the market, the company said that it has increased its CDMA and GSM prepaid tariffs by 25 percent, and it said it expects the full impact of this to be reflected in the future.

As part of its tariff revamp, it has also inked an exclusive partnership with over-the-top messaging app provider WhatsApp, to offer unlimited use for a “nominal fee”.

It also announced its All Share Postpaid Plan, targeting high-value customers, enabling families or groups to share voice, data and SMS on a single bill.

The company a profit for the quarter of INR1.02 billion (US$18.6 million), down 59.5 percent year-on-year from INR2.52 billion, on revenue of INR52.02 billion, up 3.2 percent from INR50.40 billion.

For its Wireless unit, EBITDA increased 0.3 percent to INR11.8 billion, on revenue up 0.1 percent to INR44.22 billion.

The company saw its financial charges more than double to INR5.93 billion from INR2.27 billion.

Reliance said it has 4.8 million 3G customers, which is the “highest in the industry”, and more than 26 million data customers.

As of 30 September 2012, it had a mobile customer base of 134.8 million, having lost around 20 million during the quarter due to the disconnection of inactive subscribers during the period.