Vodafone Idea narrows loss to ₹5,524 crore in Q2

Vodafone Idea Ltd, India’s third largest telecom operator, on Monday reported better-than-expected performance for the September quarter.

reported a net loss ₹5,524 crore, lower ₹A year ago there was a loss of 7,176 crore. The hit was also less Bloombergan estimated ₹6,712 crore loss for the quarter.

Lower losses are attributable to reductions in expenses, particularly financing costs, which include interest payments on the company’s debt and other obligations. Financing costs, 43% He stated that the income from his activities decreased by approximately 28% compared to the previous year. ₹4,784 crore.

On a sequential basis, operator losses narrowed ₹6,608 crore as financing cost decreased by 18.8%.

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Relief in AGR brings hope

The company announced its quarterly results at a time when it continues to grapple with the issue of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The Supreme Court last week said the government may reassess and reassess all of Vodafone Idea’s adjusted AGR dues, including interest and penalties, as of 2016-17, providing significant relief to the cash-strapped telecom company. Following this, Bharti Airtel Ltd is also in the process of seeking AGR waiver from the government.

AGR is the revenue figure used to calculate the license fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.

49 percent of Vodafone Idea is owned by the government. Regarding the AGR issue, the company said: “We are in discussion with DoT for next steps on this matter.”

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The company’s revenue from operations increased by 2.4% annually ₹11,194.7 crore, just incomplete Bloombergestimated ₹11,136 crore. This improvement can be attributed to the company’s network expansion plans, an increase in data consumption on the network, and tariff increases last year.

On a sequential basis, the company’s revenue increased by 1.6%. ₹11,022.5 crore in the previous quarter.

“We continue to make steady progress towards our strategic objective of delivering superior customer experience. We have expanded our 4G coverage to more than 84% of the population and completed 5G rollout in all 17 circles where we have 5G spectrum,” Vodafone Idea Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Kishore said in a statement. “The 21% growth in data volume reflects our ability to retain and engage customers through our differentiated prepaid and postpaid offerings.”

Kishore was appointed as the company’s CEO in August. The company continues to engage with lenders to secure debt financing to support broader capital expenditure plans. ₹50,000-55,000 crore.

Subscribers and ARPU trends

As of the end of September, the company’s number of subscribers decreased by 1 million, reaching 196.7 million.

Vodafone Idea lost 5 million subscribers each in the second and third quarters of 2024-25. In the September quarter, the company’s 4G/5G subscriber base also increased to 127.8 million compared to 127.4 million in the previous quarter.

The company’s average revenue per user (Arpu), an important performance metric, increased marginally. ₹from 167 ₹165 in the previous quarter. In comparison, Reliance Jio’s Arpu rose to: ₹211.4 in September quarter ₹While it was 208.8 in the previous quarter, Arpu for Bharti Airtel ₹256, from ₹250 in the previous quarter.

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Vodafone Idea’s EBITDA in this quarter was as follows: ₹4,685 crore, marginal compared to previous quarter ₹4,612 crore, but increased by 3% y-o-y due to higher revenue growth.