Vodafone Idea shares give up early profits; end 1% lower at close

Shares of telecom operator Vodafone Idea gave up early gains and settled 1 per cent lower amid profit-taking on Wednesday.

In early trade, it had gained 4 per cent, a day after the company reported narrowing of its consolidated losses to Rs 6,563.1 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022.

The stock jumped 3.31 per cent to Rs 9.03 during the day on the BSE. However, later it gave up early gains and settled at Rs 8.65 apiece, down 1.03 per cent.

On the NSE, it dipped 0.57 per cent to end at Rs 8.65 apiece.

On Tuesday, Vodafone Idea reported narrowing of its consolidated losses to Rs 6,563.1 crore for the fourth quarter ended March, compared to the same period of the previous year, while its realisation per user or ARPU improved sharply on a sequential basis aided by November tariff hikes.

VIL's losses were at Rs 7,022.8 crore a year ago, as per a company filing.

Its revenue from operations rose 6.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,239.5 crore in the fourth quarter of FY22. Seen sequentially, the revenue was up 5.4 per cent supported by tariff hikes effective November 25, 2021, the company said in a statement.

The realisation per user measured in terms of ARPU -- a key metric for telcos -- rose to Rs 124 for the just-ended quarter from Rs 115 in the previous three-month period.

This translated into a sequential increase of 7.5 per cent in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), although the company's subscriber base declined to 243.8 million against 247.2 million in the third quarter of FY22, primarily due to the tariff hike.