NEW DELHI: Indian mobile phone company Idea Cellular reported a 57 percent jump in quarterly profit on Monday, benefiting from fewer competitors, higher call rates and more customers using data plans.

Idea Cellular, India's third-biggest mobile phone operator by users and revenue, said consolidated first-quarter profit was Rs.7.28 billion ($120.8 million), up from Rs.4.63 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had expected Idea, part of India's Aditya Birla conglomerate and nearly a fifth-owned by Malaysia's Axiata, to earn Rs.6.29 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Leading mobile carriers in India started gaining market share in 2013 and were able to raise prices of voice calls after a court order on a licensing scandal forced some smaller companies out of the mark. Revenue at the company rose to Rs.75.55 billion from Rs.65.34 billion last year.

Unlike rival Bharti Airtel, which has other businesses, Idea is solely a mobile phone services company and only operates within India, making it a preferred telecoms stock for some brokerages.

Monthly average revenue per user, an important metric to evaluate the health of telecoms carriers, rose 4.6 percent on the previous quarter to 181 rupees. Average realization per minute, another key metric, rose to 0.45 rupees from 0.44 rupees in the fourth quarter.

Idea also said that net debt had been cut by Rs.52.09 million to Rs.139.77 million in the quarter, adding that the reduction allows it to participate in a forthcoming spectrum auction. Idea, which has already bought airwaves for $1.75 billion from a state auction this year, needs to buy more in the next sale to renew its permits in nine service areas.

Idea shares closed at Rs.139.75 in Mumbai.