Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd on Thursday reported a marginal rise in its net profit for the quarter ended June 2003 to Rs 250.67 crore (Rs 2.51 billion) from Rs 249.87 crore (Rs 2.50 billion) in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

The company's net income from services stood at Rs 1,497.47 crore (Rs 14.97 billion) during the quarter as against Rs 1,493.65 crore (Rs 14.94 billion) for the same period last year, an MTNL press release said in New Delhi.

The company has broad based its services portfolio with an emphasis on value addition and maintained a tight control over its operating costs, it said.

"During the quarter, income from services has gone up by Rs 140.9 crore (Rs 1.41 billion) and net profit has increased by Rs 66.98 crore (Rs 669.8 million) as compared to the previous quarter ended March 2003," the release added.

The net profit, it said, went up by 36.48 per cent while the income rose 10.39 per cent during the quarter as compared to the previous quarter.