telecom. Vodafone Idea reports ₹7,132-cr loss in Sept quarter

Vodafone Idea reported a loss of ₹7,132 crore for the quarter ended September 30, compared to a loss of ₹7,218 crore in the same period last year.

The company’s total consolidated income dipped 12 per cent year on year to ₹9,434 crore (₹10,830 crore).

In the light of the Union Cabinet’s September 15 decision to allow for the deferment option of the company’s looming spectrum and AGR dues, the entire net liability for AGR is ₹63,398 crore and spectrum liability at ₹1,07,356 crore is now a non-current liability for the company.

The group also incurred a loss of ₹14,451 crore for the first half of the 2022 fiscal year, ended September 30. As of September 30, the total debt of the group stands at ₹1,94,778 crore. The existing debt, payable by September 30, 2022, is ₹9,732 crore.

In the light of the company’s balance sheet status, auditors noted that Voda Idea’s ability to continue is dependent on raising additional funds as required, either through successful negotiations with its lenders or through increased cash flow from operations.

Vodafone Idea also improved its Average Revenue Per Unit to ₹109, a 5.3 per cent increase QoQ vs ₹104 in Q1FY22. “This quarter we had taken certain pricing initiatives to improve ARPU, in line with our stated strategy. We increased the entry level prepaid pricing plan from ₹49 to ₹79, in a phased manner, as well as increased the tariffs in some postpaid plans.” said Vodafone Idea.

On the operations side, Voda Idea said it continues to invest in 4G to increase coverage and capacity. During the quarter, Vodafone Idea added10,800 4G FDD sites primarily through refarming of 2G/3G spectrum (by shutting down around 9,600 3G sites) to 4G coverage. The overall broadband site count stood at 450,481, compared to 447,114 in Q1FY22. “Till date, we have deployed over 65,000 TDD sites in addition to the deployment of ~13,850 Massive MIMO sites and ~13,000 small cells. We continue to expand our LTE 900 presence in 12 circles at multiple locations, including through dynamic spectrum refarming, to improve customer experience. Our 4G network covers over 1 billion Indians as of September 30, 2021 (4G coverage is the population reached/covered by VIL with its 4G network),” Vodafone Idea noted in its financial report.

Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said: “We welcome the Government’s landmark reform package which addresses several industry concerns and provides immediate relief to the financial stress in the sector. We also appreciate the Government’s recognition of the telecom sector’s contribution in keeping the country connected during the pandemic. During the last quarter, we witnessed a recovery in our operating momentum as the economy has started to gradually open up aided by the ongoing rapid vaccination drive. We continue to improve our 4G subscriber base on the back of superior data and voice experience on Vi GIGAnet, India’s fastest mobile network, which is testified through consistent top rankings in Ookla and TRAI. We continue to focus on executing our strategy to improve our competitive position and win in the marketplace.”

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