Bharti Airtel, the world's fifth-biggest mobile phone carrier by subscribers, reported on Wednesday a

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22 percent fall in quarterly profit its eighth straight quarter of declining profits -- hit by higher interest costs.

Bharti, controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal and also nearly a third owned by Southeast Asia's biggest phone firm SingTel, said consolidated net profit fell to 10.11 billion indian rupees for its fiscal third quarter ended December from 13.03 billion rupees a year earlier.

The results were based on international accounting standards.

A Reuters poll of brokerages had expected a 3.2 percent rise in net profit to 13.45 billion rupes for India's top mobile phone operator, which in 2010 bought mobile operations from Kuwait's Zain (ZAIN.KW) in 15 African countries in a $9 billion debt-funded deal.

Bharti currently operates in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. India is the company's biggest market where it had more than 175 million mobile customers as of December.