Vodafone Idea Jumps 15% As Telcos Seek Modification In AGR Ruling

Shares of Vodafone Idea jumped 15 percent in Tuesday’s trade after the telecom maker approached the Supreme Court in a bid to delay payments that are due Thursday. The operator wants to negotiate conditions and schedules for payment of statutory dues with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), according to their petitions.

It told the court that if no relief is forthcoming, it will have to shut.

The stock rose 15.02 percent to hit a high of Rs 5.59 on BSE.

“The company does not have any other resource available for the purpose of this payment,” Vodafone Idea said in its plea, which ET has seen. “If a suitable and appropriate arrangement is not made available, it will lead to immediate closure of one of the oldest and largest telecom companies in India.”

The ‘modification’ applications were filed on Monday after the Supreme Court last week rejected the pleas of the three phone companies — Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices — to review the October 24 verdict that widened the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). That left the three companies facing more than Rs 1.02 lakh crore in additional licence fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC), penalties and interest.

Vodafone Idea said it’s not getting much support from the banks.

“The value of Rs 1,90,000 crore of equity investments by promoters is less than Rs 10,500 crore currently, with virtually no prospect of recovery,” it said.―India Finance News