 "Vodafone Idea Q2 loss narrows to ₹5,584 crore, Arpu rises to ₹180")
Vodafone Idea (Vi) narrowed its consolidated net loss to ₹5,584 crore during the quarter ended September 2025 (Q2FY26) from ₹7,176 crore in the same period last year (Q2FY25).
The reduction reflects operational improvements despite ongoing industry challenges.
Revenue grew 2.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to ₹11,194.7 crore in Q2FY26 from ₹10,932 crore in Q2FY25.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) rose to ₹4,685 crore from ₹4,550 crore. The finance costs dropped to ₹4,784 crore from ₹6,613.6 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.
Abhijit Kishore, chief executive officer (CEO), said, “We are focused on increasing our 4G coverage to 90 per cent of population and expanding our 5G footprint in geographies with growing 5G handset adoption. We remain engaged with lenders to secure debt financing to support our broader capex plans of ₹500–550 billion. As we move forward, our investment journey to deliver superior customer experience continues.”
The telco said it was holding discussions with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) regarding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues reassessment following the recent Supreme Court directives.
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s judgment dated October 27, 2025 and November 3, 2025 whereby the Union of India is permitted to reconsider and take an appropriate decision with reference to the additional AGR demand raised for the period up to the financial year 2016-2017 and comprehensively reassessing and reconciling all AGR dues, including interest and penalty, up to the said financial year. We are in discussion with the DoT for next steps on this matter,” the company said in a statement on Monday.
It has to pay ₹16,428 crore as AGR instalment by March 2026, 'subject to reconsideration or reassessment of AGR dues, including interest and penalty up to FY17 by DoT,” it said.
The carrier has to pay ₹2,558 crore as deferred payment obligations for spectrum by June 2026.
The average revenue per user (Arpu), a key indicator of profitability in a telecom services provider, rose to ₹180 in Q2FY26, up 8.7 per cent from ₹166 in Q2FY25 and ₹177 in the quarter ended June 2025. It was supported by customer upgrades and tariff hikes.
Despite the increase, Vi’s Arpu remains the lowest among its peers, with a large gap compared to Bharti Airtel that led the market with an Arpu of ₹256 and Reliance Jio's Arpu of ₹211.4, as of the September quarter.
Vi’s 4G and 5G subscriber base grew to 127.8 million in Q2FY26 from 125.9 million in Q2FY25.
Total customer base stood at 196.7 million. The company expanded its 4G population coverage to 84.4 per cent from 77 per cent in the previous year. It completed 5G rollout in all 17 circles where it holds spectrum, with 5G services available in 29 cities.
The company’s debt from banks was reduced to ₹1,542 crore as of September 30, 2025, with a cash and bank balance of ₹3,080 crore. Capex during the quarter was ₹1,750 crore.
In the quarter ended March 2025, Vi’s board approved raising ₹20,000 crore through another follow-on public offer (FPO), a private placement, or via any other permissible mode.
The telco had issued India's largest FPO at Rs 18,000 crore in April 2024, followed by preferential share issues to promoters and vendors Nokia and Ericsson. Vi’s promoters had also put in Rs 4,000 crore, besides Rs 1,980 crore raised from entities belonging to promoter Vodafone Group PLC through preferential issue in January 2025.