Shares of the country's largest telecom firm Bharti Airtel tumbled by over 6 per

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cent on the bourses today after the company posted 22 per cent decline in third quarter consolidated net profit.

Shares of the company opened weak and further plunged by 6.42 per cent to touch an early low of Rs 354.60 apiece on the BSE. At 1006 hrs, shares of Bharti Airtel were trading at Rs 355.50 apiece, down 6.19 per cent, on the BSE.

"The counter of the telecom firm fell as the quarterly result is below expectation. Besides, the stock is overbought so correction was needed," CNI Research CMD Kishor Ostwal said.

On the National Stock Exchange, the scrip fell 6.49 per cent to an early low of Rs 354.15.

Later, the shares were trading at Rs 355.70, down 6.09 per cent on the NSE at 1007 hrs.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex was trading 69.76 points up at 17,692.21 points.

Bharti Airtel reported a 22 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 1,011 crore in the October-December quarter of current fiscal compared to Rs 1,303 crore in the year-ago period.

This is the eighth straight quarter in which Bharti Airtel has reported a decline in its net profit.

The company saw a dip in its December quarter net profit due to higher interest outgo and cost related to launch of third generation services