Vodafone Idea’s operations were adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic
Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported its net loss widened to Rs 25,460 crore in the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 4,874 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. In a regulatory filing after market hours, the telecom major said its revenue from operations declined 8 per cent to Rs 10,659.30 crore. Vodafone Idea said that during the quarter, it made a payment of Rs 6,854.40 crore in three instalments to the government’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues.
The company also recognised an additional charge of Rs 19,440.50 crore as exceptional item towards the total estimated liability based on the telecom department’s demand of Rs 58,254 crore. Consequently, the company said, its net worth turned negative during the quarter (-Rs 19,491.80 crore), Vodafone Idea said.
Vodafone Idea’s operations were also adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic globally and in India is causing significant disturbance and a slowdown of economic activities,” Vodafone Idea said in a statement.
“Subscriber churn reduced to an all-time low of 2.0 per cent (3.3 per cent in Q4FY20), as net disconnections were lower during the quarter. However, the gross additions were severely impacted by closure of retail stores during the nationwide lockdown resulting in subscriber base decline to 279.8 million in Q1FY21 from 291.1 million in Q4FY20,” the telecom company said.
Vodafone Idea’s average revenue per user (ARPU) per month – a key measure of profitability for a telecom company – came down to Rs 114 per month in the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 121 per month in the year-ago period.
Gross debt (excluding lease liabilities) as of June 30, 2020 was Rs 1,18,940 crore, including deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 92,270 crore due to the government.
Cash and cash equivalents were at Rs 3,450 crore, whereas net debt stood at Rs 1,15,500 crore, said the country’s third largest wireless operator.
Vodafone Idea shares ended 0.72 per cent higher at Rs 8.25 apiece on the BSE ahead of the earnings announcement, underperforming the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index which rose nearly 1 per cent.
