May 16 (Reuters) - Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea announced a surprise fourth-quarter profit after tax on Saturday.

The company posted a consolidated profit after tax of 519.76 billion rupees ($5.42 billion) in the three months to March 31, beating analysts' estimates.

($1 = 95.9600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier)