Vodafone Idea’s board has approved a preferential issue of warrants worth up to Rs 4,730 crore to promoter group entity Suryaja Investments, Singapore, an Aditya Birla Group entity, in a fresh capital raise aimed at strengthening the telecom operator’s balance sheet and funding requirements.
The company said it will issue up to 430 crore (4.3 billion) warrants, each convertible into one equity share, at an issue price of Rs 11 per warrant. The relevant date for determining the minimum issue price was fixed as May 12.
Vodafone Idea has also called an extraordinary general meeting on June 11 to seek shareholder approval for the proposed preferential issue.
Following full conversion of the warrants into equity shares, Suryaja Investments is expected to hold up to 3.82% stake in the company. “As much as 25% of the warrant exercise price shall be payable at the time of subscription of warrants and the balance 75% of the warrant exercise price shall be payable by the warrant holder at the time of exercise of the right attached to warrant to subscribe to equity shares,” Vodafone Idea said in a filing to the exchanges on Saturday.
The company said each warrant can be converted into one equity share with a face value of Rs 10 within 18 months from the date of allotment. The conversion rights may be exercised in one or more tranches during this period.
“In case the warrant holder fails to exercise the warrant within a period of 18 months from the date of allotment of warrant, the warrant shall lapse and the 25% of the warrant exercise price paid at the time of issuance of warrant will be forfeited by the company,” the telco said in its exchange filing.
Q4 profit jumps on one-off gains
For the quarter ended March 31, Vodafone Idea reported a sequential improvement in its financial performance, supported mainly by one-off gains on account reassessment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The company posted a net profit of Rs 51,986 crore for the quarter, turning around from a loss of Rs 5,284 crore in the preceding three months, gaining from a one-time benefit of Rs 55,622 crore marked under exceptional items.
In January this year, the Department of Telecommunications froze Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues at Rs 87,695 crore as of December 2025. After reassessment, it reduced the amount to Rs 64,046 crore which will be paid in smaller payments till 2035 and annual instalments of Rs 10,608 crore between FY36 and FY41.
“The financial liability of Rs 80,502 crore as of December 31, 2025, was derecognised and revised financial liability of Rs 24,880 crore was recognised, which is the present value of future payments as stated above. The resulting difference of Rs 55,622 crore (including impact of reassessed amount) along with net impact of other related provisions has been credited to statement of profit and loss and disclosed under exceptional items in the financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2026,” Vodafone Idea said in its disclosures to the exchanges.
Vi also has to pay Rs 609 crore in spectrum usage charges related to FY18 and FY19 in six yearly instalments, of which Rs 124 crore has already been paid, it said. Loss before exceptional items and tax was Rs 5,515 crore, narrowing 13.4% from the previous quarter’s Rs 6,368 crore, on account of lower finance costs and lower roaming and access charges.
Revenue from operations in Q4 stood at Rs 11,332, almost flat compared to Rs 11,323 crore in the previous quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) came in at Rs 4,899 crore, higher than Rs 4,816 crore in the preceding period. EBITDA margin improved 50 basis points sequentially to 43.1% (Q3: 42.6%).
Blended average revenue per user (Arpu) rose to Rs 172 from Rs 167 in the previous quarter. However, this remains lower than that of peers. Reliance Jio reported Arpu of Rs 214 in the same period, rising marginally from Rs 213.7 sequentially. Mobile only Arpu was Rs 190 in Q4, compared to Rs 186 in Q3. Bharti Airtel saw mobile only ARPU decline to Rs 257 in Q4 from Rs 259 in Q3.
Vodafone Idea’s subscriber base stood at 192.8 million at the end of the quarter, compared with 192.9 million in the preceding three-month period, indicating a slowdown in customer loss. While it continued to bleed customers, the company noted an increase in its 4G/5G subscriber base to 128.9 million up from 128.5 million sequentially, indicative of ongoing customer migration toward higher-speed data services.
Chief executive Abhijit Kishore said that the fiscal fourth quarter showed clear signs of gains from capex investments and network rollouts. “Q4FY26 marks a decisive step forward with all seven key parameters that we benchmark our performance to, demonstrating sequential improvement. Most significantly, our subscriber addition turned net positive since February 2026, a meaningful milestone that reflects the impact of our sustained network investment,” he said.
The telco expanded 4G coverage to include a population of over 48 million and its 5G service is now live in over 80 cities. “Our focus is on execution and in ensuring that the momentum only accelerates from here on,” Kishore said.