Vodafone Idea Q1 net loss narrows to Rs 6,432 crore

The telecom service provider's consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 6,432.1 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 7,840 crore reported in Q1 FY24.

Revenue from operations decline marginally to Rs 10,508.3 crore in Q1 FY25 as against Rs 10,655.5 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter previous year.

The company reported a pre-tax loss of Rs 6,426.6 crore in Q4 FY24 as against a pre-tax loss of Rs 7,837 crore posted in Q1 FY24.

EBITDA for the quarter was at Rs 4,204.7 crore, up 1.15% from Rs 4,157crore recorded in Q1 FY24. EBITDA margin improved to 40% in Q4 FY24 as compared to 39% registered in the same period a year ago.

The telecom operator said that the 4G subscriber base continued to grow for the twelfth successive quarter. The 4G subscriber base stood at 126.7 million at the end of Q1FY25 versus 122.9 million in Q1FY24, an addition of 3.8 million 4G subscribers over last one year. The total subscriber base stood at 210.1 million.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) improved to Rs 146, up 4.5% on YoY basis as against Rs 139 in Q1 FY24, primarily aided by change in entry level plan and subscriber upgrades.

Capex spend for the quarter stood at Rs 760 crore. The total debt from banks and financial institutions stood at Rs 4,650 crore and optionally convertible debentures at Rs 160 crore as of 30 June 2024. The debt from banks and financial institutions reduced by Rs 4,550 crore during the last one year (was at Rs 9,200 crore in Q1 FY24). The cash and bank balance stood at Rs 18,150 crore as of 30 June 2024.

The payment obligations to the Government stood at Rs 2,09,520 crore as of 30 June 2024 including deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,39,200 crore and AGR liability of Rs 70,320 crore.

Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said, Post the recent equity raise, we are in the process of expanding our 4G coverage and capacity as well as launch of 5G services. Some capex has already been ordered and under execution, basis which we expect approximately 15% increase in our data capacity and an increase in 4G population coverage by around 16 million by end September 24.

Our current capex needs are being met out of equity funds. We are engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our network expansion with a planned capex of Rs 500 to 550 billion over next 3 years. The recent tariff intervention is a step in the right direction for the industry to move towards better return on investment, as also to improve cash generation to support the large investment requirements. However, further tariff rationalization is needed for the industry to fully cover its cost of capital.

Vodafone Idea is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is amongst India's leading telecom service provider. The company provides pan India voice and data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms. The company holds large spectrum portfolio including mid band 5G spectrum in 17 circles and mmWave 5G spectrum in 16 circles.

Shares of Vodafone Idea slipped 2.06% to Rs 15.68 on the BSE.

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