Shares of telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea dropped amid the ongoing trouble around the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue. While the stock of Bharti Airtel fell 5 per cent, Vodafone Idea plunged 13 per cent in the intra-day trade on BSE. Shares of Bharti Airtel came under pressure after the company deferred the September quarter result announcement till November 14, due to the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue. The company was earlier scheduled to approve and release its Q2 numbers on Tuesday. “…the management of the company recommended to the board of directors that the agenda item related to the approval of audited financial results for the second quarter and half year ended September 30, 2019… be deferred till November 14, 2019, on account of the fact that more clarity is needed on the AGR matter arising out of recent judgement of… the Supreme Court,” Airtel said in a regulatory filing.
Earlier last week in October, the Supreme Court allowed the center’s plea to recover AGR (revenue earned from the sale of telecom services) of about Rs 92,000 crore from telecom service providers. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other telecom operators may have to pay the government a whopping Rs 1.4 lakh crore to the government. The telecom industry is already grappling with billions of dollars in debt and an intense tariff war to retain customers.
Meanwhile, Sensex rallied 581.64 points to end at 39,831.84, while Nifty soared 159.70 points to 11,786.85. Tata Motors was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, after the company posted strong quarterly results. The homegrown auto major on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 187.7 crore for the quarter ended September 30, against a loss of Rs 1,009.49 crore in the same period of 2018-19.