Vodafone Idea Loss Widens To Rs 50,922 Crore In September Quarter

Vodafone Idea reported e net loss of Rs 50,922 crore for the quarter ended September 30 as against a net loss of Rs 4,973.8 crore for the corresponding period a year ago. Its revenue from services rose 42 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,838.9 crore. The huge loss posted by the company came on account of a one-time charge of Rs 25,677.9 crore towards penalty and dues levied by the Department of Telecommunications. Vodafone Idea said that its ability to continue as going concern is dependent on obtaining relief from the government and positive outcome of the proposed legal remedy.

Analysts had on an average expected the company to report a consolidated net loss of Rs 4,422 crore for the quarter, news agency Reuters reported citing Refinitiv data, although those figures did not include the charge.

The Supreme Court order on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) matter "has significant financial implications for the industry", Vodafone Idea said in a statement. 

"We are in active discussions with the government seeking financial relief following the recent Hon'ble Supreme Court ruling," Ravinder Takkar, MD and CEO of Vodafone Idea, said in a press release.

"At the same time, we remain highly focused on rapid network integration and 4G coverage and capacity expansion in our key markets. Data experience for our customers has significantly improved post consolidation and we now lead the league tables on 4G data download speeds in the circles of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal as well as in Sikkim and Chennai," he added.

Earlier this week, UK media reported that Vodafone Group Plc chief Nick Read gave an ultimatum to the government of India to not pump in more capital in India, a "potentially disastrous but fitting end to Vodafone's big bet on India" where the destruction of value has been complete.

Vodafone Idea's subscriber base declined to 31.1 crore from 32 crore subscribers in the previous quarter and average revenue per user (ARPU) a key metric of profitability of a telecom company came in at Rs 107 in September quarter versus Rs 108 in the previous quarter.

Vodafone Idea shares slumped 20 per cent to close at Rs 2.95 apiece on the BSE ahead of the earnings announcement, underperforming the Sensex which rose 0.4 per cent.