Vodafone Idea’s net loss for the January-March quarter widened to Rs 7,674 crore, from Rs 6,986 crore in the preceding quarter, owing to the fall in revenues and base effect of Q3, where the company recorded a one-time gain of Rs 755.5 crore. Bloomberg had estimated the net losses at Rs 7,701 crore.
Total expenses fell 0.8% sequentially to Rs 18,303 crore. On a year-on-year basis, the expenses rose 7.5%, owing to which losses widened from Rs 6,419 crore a year ago. Revenues from operations fell 0.6% q-o-q to Rs 10,607 crore, missing the Bloomberg estimate of Rs 10,696 crore. On a year-on-year basis, the revenue rose 0.7%.Consolidated Ebitda surpassed the estimates at Rs 4,336 crore and fell 0.3% sequentially. Bloomberg had pegged Ebitda at Rs 4,321 crore. Ebitda margin expanded 10 basis points to 40.9% from 40.8% in the preceding quarter.
On the operational front, the average revenue per user (Arpu) rose marginally sequentially to Rs 146. The reason for increase in Arpu can be attributed to increase in 4G subscribers, consumer upgrades and data consumption on the network. The growth in Arpu restricted for the company in absence of a tariff hike. In the January-March quarter, the company’s 4G subscriber base rose to 126.3 million from 125.6 million in the preceding quarter.
“We registered growth in ARPU and 4G subscribers for 11 successive quarters. Our equity fundraise of Rs 21,500 crore will enable us to kickstart the investment cycle to expand our 4G coverage as well as launch of 5G services to effectively participate in the industry growth opportunities,” Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea, said in a statement.The company’s average data usage per 4G customer rose to 15.8 GB, compared to 15.7 GB in the preceding quarter. Total data volume rose marginally q-o-q to 6.05 billion GB.
VIL lost 2.6 million mobile subscribers, taking its user base to 212.6 million at the end of March. The blended churn of subscribers fell to 3.9% compared to 4.3% in the October-December period.Total voice consumption on the company’s network also rose marginally to 0.4 trillion minutes. The company’s average minute of usage on the network rose 2% to 627 minutes.
At the end of the January-March quarter, Vodafone Idea’s gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) was at Rs 2.16 trillion. The gross debt comprises deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1.3 trillion, AGR liabilities of Rs 70,320 crore that are due to the government, debt from banks and financial institutions of Rs 4,212 crore and optionally convertible debentures amounting to Rs 160 crore.
The company said its debt from banks and financial institution has reduced by Rs 7,090 crore during the last one year. The bank debt was at Rs 11,130 crore in the year ago period. By March 2025, the company has an obligation to pay debt of Rs 2,371 crore. The company said its net working capital (excluding short-term borrowing, future leased liabilities and certain accruals towards pending litigations) stands at negative Rs 20,643 crore.
As the moratorium on regulatory dues ends in September 2025, the company said it is also required to provide bank guarantees at least 13 months prior to each of the installment becoming due post the moratorium period. The amount from October 2025 till September 2026 will aggregate to Rs 24,747 crore. The company said it could seek waiver from the department of telecommunications (DoT) from providing bank guarantees.
“We are engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our overall network expansion plan,” Moondra added. The company’s capex spend for the quarter stood at Rs 550 crore up from Rs 330 crore in the preceding quarter.
