Vodafone Idea's consolidated loss narrows to Rs 4,882 cr in March quarter

Loss came down from Rs 5,004.6 crore in the Dec quarter; a year-on-year comparison not possible as the merger of Vodafone and Idea had not taken place as of the same quarter last year

Vodafone Idea Ltd, India's largest telecom operator, on Monday reported a consolidated loss of Rs 4,881.9 crore for the quarter ended March 31, amid a brutal tariff war in India's telecom market.

Seen sequentially, the loss narrowed from Rs 5,004.6 crore for the December quarter of 2018-19. While the company had recorded a comprehensive loss of Rs 962.2 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, there cannot be a year-on-year comparison as the merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular was completed only on August 31, 2018, news agency PTI reported.

For Vodafone Idea, whose financials have been battered by an intense price competition posed by Reliance Jio, promoted by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, the revenue from operations for the March quarter of 2018-19 came in at Rs 11,775 crore, almost unchanged from Rs 11,764.8 crore in the previous quarter. 

The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) grew by 16.3 per cent quarter on quarter to Rs 104 in the March quarter from Rs 89 in the December quarter.