3 weeks ago
Vodafone Idea adds subscribers first time since 2018, cuts losses
Vodafone Idea is one of the biggest phone companies in India.
For a long time, since two big phone companies joined together in 2018, it kept losing customers.
This time, for the first time since then, it gained more customers than it lost.
The company is still losing money, but it lost much less than before.
It also earned more money from its phone services this year than last year.
The government helped by lowering a huge bill that the company had to pay.
Vodafone Idea now wants to borrow a lot of money from banks to build better phone networks.
Its leader says the hardest part is over and the company is getting stronger.
Other phone companies in India are watching closely, because the prices people pay for phone plans are very low.
Vodafone Idea added subscribers for the first time in a quarter since its August 2018 merger, with its customer base rising to 193.1 million from 192.8 million in the preceding quarter, though it fell 4.6 million year-on-year.
The company narrowed its net loss to ₹3,754 crore in Q1FY27, from ₹6,608 crore a year earlier, beating Bloomberg's estimate of ₹5,391 crore.
Revenue from operations grew 6% year-on-year to ₹11,689 crore, while quarterly Ebitda rose 9.1% to ₹5,034 crore.
The government cut Vodafone Idea's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues by ₹23,600 crore to ₹64,046 crore and deferred the bulk of payments by 10 years, to be paid from FY36 to FY41.
Vodafone Idea is seeking ₹35,000 crore in bank debt, with a ₹45,000-crore network expansion plan and ₹49,000 crore in spectrum dues due over the next three years.
The company is in active discussions with state-owned BSNL over sharing telecom infrastructure to reduce operating costs.
- Who
- Vodafone Idea Ltd, India's third-largest telecom operator, led by CEO Abhijit Kishore and chaired by Kumar Mangalam Birla.
- What
- Reported Q1FY27 results showing its first quarterly subscriber addition since the 2018 Vodafone India–Idea Cellular merger, a sharply narrowed net loss, and higher revenue and Ebitda.
- Where
- India; the Mumbai-headquartered company had its results reported from New Delhi.
- When
- For the quarter ended June, with results announced after market hours on a Monday.
- Why
- Network expansion, lower total expenses including interest costs, a one-time ₹1,816 crore gain linked to Vodafone Plc equity, and government AGR relief supported the improvement.
Tariff hike advocates (Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel)
Organic growth camp (Reliance Jio)
Telecom tariff repair
Tariff hike advocates (Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel)
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have been asking for tariff repair in the sector for some time, with Vodafone Idea's non-executive chairman noting India's Arpu remains among the lowest in the world.
Organic growth camp (Reliance Jio)
Market leader Reliance Jio has been signalling confidence in organic Arpu growth, with its Arpu at ₹215.6 a month versus ₹177 for Vodafone Idea.
Key facts
- Subscriber base
- 193.1 million in Q1FY27, first quarterly net addition since the 2018 merger
- Net loss
- ₹3,754 crore, down from ₹6,608 crore a year earlier
- Revenue from operations
- ₹11,689 crore, up 6% year-on-year
- Ebitda
- ₹5,034 crore, up 9.1% year-on-year
- Blended Arpu
- ₹177 per month, up 1.7% sequentially from ₹174
- AGR dues after relief
- ₹64,046 crore after a ₹23,600 crore cut; bulk payments deferred to FY36–FY41
- Government stake
- 49%
- One-time gain
- ₹1,816 crore from fair-value adjustment of equity shares to be settled with promoter Vodafone Plc
Quotes
Abhijit Kishore
Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Idea
“"Our robust Q1FY27 performance is a strong validation of our defined strategy and disciplined execution."”
livemint.com
Sources
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