Vodafone Essar, the second largest telecom operator (by revenues) in India, reported service revenue of ?899 million (about Rs 6,442.6 crore) in the second quarter of the financial year 2010-11, up 27.6% from ?704 million (Rs 5045.2 crore) in same quarter last year. However, sequentially, revenues were down 5.7% against ?954 million (Rs 6,836.8 crore) in June quarter of FY10-11.
The company reported an adjusted operating profit of ?6 million (Rs 42.9 crore) in the first half of the financial year 2010-11 against an operating loss of ?43 million (Rs 308.1 crore) in first half of the financial year 2009-10.
?India-service revenue grew by 14.7% including a 2.3% point benefit from Indus Towers, the Group?s network sharing joint venture.
Growth was driven by a 42.7% increase in the average mobile customer base and strong usage per customer partially offset by a fall in the effective rate per minute due to an increase in penetration of lower priced tariffs into the customer base,? said the company in a press release. In the first half of the year 2010-11, Vodafone Essar has spent ?286 million (Rs 2049.6 crore) as capital expenditure. Capex was at a lower level than in the same period last year, reflecting delayed infrastructure investment in India due to import restrictions.
Its ebitda for the first half of the year 2010-11 stood at ?488 million and is operating at an ebitda margin of 26%. ?Ebitda increased by 23.5%driven by the increase in the customer base, efficiencies in the mobile business, which absorbed pricing and cost pressures, and an increased contribution from Indus Towers,? the release added. ?We will pursue a growth strategy focused particularly on Europe, Africa and India. We will continue to generate revenues growth from driving penetration of mobile voice and SMS and accelerating the adoption of affordable data into our attractive markets across India and Africa,? said Vittorio Colao, CEO, Vodafone Group Plc.
Vodafone Essar India has a subscriber base of 115.5 million with a mobile customer churn of 41.4%. Its voice traffic stood at 1,04,878 million in the Q2FY11. Vodafone Essar has a blended average revenue per user per month of Rs 177.
The company was rumored to be mulling sale of its tower business across seven circles, valued at Rs 4,000 crore.
