 "Vodafone Idea shares tank 20%, Indus Towers 14% after SC rejects AGR plea")
Vodafone Idea share price: Vodafone Idea share price plunged 22.4 per cent intraday to Rs 10 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday. The crash in Vodafone Idea's stock price came after the Supreme Court rejected telecom companies' plea on re-computation of adjusted gross revenues (AGR). With this, the stock fell below its follow-on public offer (FPO) price of Rs 11 per share.
The Supreme Court also upheld the quantum of the AGR demand already sought by the government.
At close, shares of Vodafone Idea were down 19.7 per cent at Rs 10.44 per share. Shares of Indus Towers, which plunged 14.4 per cent to Rs 366.35 per share intraday, were down 8.23 per cent at Rs 893.
Bharti Airtel shares, on the contrary, shut shop 1 per cent higher at Rs 1,672 per share. The shares hit an intraday high of Rs 1,712 per share and a low of Rs 1,648. Reliance Industries, which owns telecom arm Reliance Jio Platforms, also settled 0.45 per cent higher at Rs 2,940. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 2,911 and a high of Rs 2,953.
By comparison, the Nifty50 index edged 38 points (0.2 per cent) higher to end at 25,418 on Thursday.
The exchanges sought clarification from Vodafone Idea regarding the panic selling in shares. In response, the company said "the Supreme Court, vide its judgment dated August 30, 2024, published on website today (i.e. 19 September 2024) has dismissed the curative petition filed by the Company and other telecom operators, in the AGR matter".
"Application for listing the Curative Petitions in open Court is rejected. The Curative Petitions are dismissed in terms of the signed order. Pending application, if any, stands disposed," the SC's order read. READ MORE
Bharti Airtel shares, on the contrary, shut shop 1 per cent higher at Rs 1,672 per share. The shares hit an intraday high of Rs 1,712 per share and a low of Rs 1,648. Reliance Industries, which owns telecom arm Reliance Jio Platforms, also settled 0.45 per cent higher at Rs 2,940. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 2,911 and a high of Rs 2,953.
By comparison, the Nifty50 index edged 38 points (0.2 per cent) higher to end at 25,418 on Thursday.
The exchanges sought clarification from Vodafone Idea regarding the panic selling in shares. In response, the company said "the Supreme Court, vide its judgment dated August 30, 2024, published on website today (i.e. 19 September 2024) has dismissed the curative petition filed by the Company and other telecom operators, in the AGR matter".
"Application for listing the Curative Petitions in open Court is rejected. The Curative Petitions are dismissed in terms of the signed order. Pending application, if any, stands disposed," the SC's order read. READ MORE
The Supreme Court of India rejected the curative petitions filed by Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, which sought limited reconsideration of the court's 2019 judgment that mandated the inclusion of non-core revenues in the calculation of AGR dues.
The petitions argued that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had made meaningful errors in calculating the AGR dues, resulting in unjust penalties.
Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, in their petitions, had contended that AGR should include only core telecom revenues. While the DoT insisted it should encompass all revenue, including from non-telecom services. READ HERE
At present, Vodafone Idea has AGR dues worth Rs 70,300 crore pending, while Bharti Airtel owes Rs 44,000 crore.