Vodafone Idea shares slip below face value to hit new low of Rs 9.90

Shares of Vodafone Idea slipped below its face value of Rs 10 at Rs 9.90, down 6 per cent on the BSE on Wednesday on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of the telecom services provider hit an all-time low on the bourses.

Till 02:26 pm, around 200 million equity shares, representing 0.69 per cent total equity of Vodafone Idea, changed hands on the NSE and BSE. About 9.5 million shares of the company changed hands via single block deal, the BSE data shows.

Thus far in the current calendar year 2019, shares of the company have more than halved from the level of Rs 23 on poor earnings and high debt. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 5 per cent during the same period.

The Vodafone-Idea is the weakest of the three players in the telecom segment, notwithstanding recent fund raising, which, as per analysts, will provide only temporary relief.

"Vodafone Idea is burdened by high leverage and its strategy to improve its broadband and 4G customer base through continued capital investments in network capacity and coverage remains characterised by risks from lack of free funds and sectoral price wars as RJio sustains/ ups its intensity to grab market share. Given its extremely high leverage and negative free cash flow generation post interest payments, Vodafone Idea’s ability to withstand a sustained onslaught of RJio is quite limited," analysts at JP Morgan had said in a report dated May 15, 2019.

The foreign brokerage further said that despite potential for significant realisations from synergies obtained from the merger between the two entities, Vodafone Idea will continue to burn capital at a rapid pace with an imminent need to raise equity capital or divest assets potentially by end of June quarter (Q1FY20).

The board of directors of Vodafone Idea is scheduled to meet on Friday, July 26 to consider and approve unaudited financial results of the company for Q1FY20.

Edelweiss Securities expects Vodafone Idea's revenue to drop 4 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ), due to 7.5 million subscriber base during the quarter.

“We are expecting a 4.8 per cent revival in average revenue per user (ARPU) from Rs 109 in Q4FY19 to Rs 114. The network opex synergies and successful integration of operations are expected to bolster the EBITDA margins by 1.6 percentage points to 16.8 per cent. Key things to watch will be progress on synergy realisation, mobile broadband subscriber addition, and plans for fiber monetisation,” the brokerage firm wrote in the quarterly results preview.