Videocon Telecom Q2 operating loss narrows to Rs 47 crore

Videocon Telecom today reported narrowing of operating loss to Rs 47 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2015, against Rs 81.3 crore in the corresponding period last year.
"We have achieved 95 per cent of our targeted gross revenue in second quarter. High growth in sales and lowering of network operation cost has resulted in significant reduction of our operating losses to Rs 47 crore from Rs 81.3 crore a year ago," Videocon Telecom Director and CEO Arvind Bali told PTI.
The company posted consolidated revenue growth of over 27 per cent at Rs 621 crore in the reported quarter as compared to about Rs 488 crore registered in the same period a year ago.

Bali said increase in service tax incidence and roaming rate impacted the company's revenue target.
"In absence of these factors, target achievement would have been 99 per cent.
"Our GSM net revenue is up by 41 per cent over same quarter last year, and operating losses have gone down by 42 per cent. We are now targeting consolidated topline revenue of Rs 3,000 crore in year 2015-16," he said.

In July and August 2015, Videocon Telecom reported net subscriber addition of 3.13 lakh, against the industry losing net subscriber base of 1.29 lakh, in its four operational circles - Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the company said in a report.

"We achieved 29 per cent growth in subscriber base over same quarter last year," Bali added.
The company has permit for telecom services in UP and Bihar as well but is yet to launch its operations.
The telcom operator plans to acquire 1 crore new subscribers this financial year, the report added.
"Data continues to contribute to approximately 12 per cent of Videocon's gross revenue and the company aims at taking up the data contribution to gross revenue at 15 per cent by end of current financial year as we upgrade our network," Bali said.
The company reported a 23 per cent improvement in net rate per minute and 12 per cent growth in its minutes of usage in second quarter this year over same quarter previous year.