Vodafone Idea Posts Q3 Net Loss Of Rs 5005 Crore, Approves Rs 25,000 Crore Rights Issue

Vodafone Idea reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 5004.60 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2018.

“The Mumbai-headquartered telecom company posted the consolidated net loss of Rs 1284.50 crore in the same quarter last year,” Vodafone Idea said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

This is the first full quarter results for Vodafone Idea, post completion of the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular on August 31, 2018.

“Q2FY19 and Q3FY19 figures are not comparable to an earlier period,” Vodafone Idea said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company clocked in total revenue of Rs 11,764.8 crore in the October-December quarter.

As on December 31, 2018, Gross debt stood at Rs 1,23,660 crore, including deferred spectrum payment obligations due to the Government of Rs. 91,480 crore. Cash and cash equivalents were Rs 8900 crore, resulting in net debt of Rs 1,14,760 crore (vs Rs 1,12,510 crore in Q2FY19).

The board of the company also approved a rights issue of up to Rs 25,000 crore.

Commenting on the earnings numbers, Vodafone Idea said, “Our headline tariffs remained stable during the quarter. However, customers continued to migrate to lower ARPU plans. Within this context, the company has implemented various initiatives to improve its revenue, profitability and competitive standing in line with its stated strategy, which began to impact performance positively towards the end of the quarter.”

The company’s average revenue per user (ARPU) for the December end quarter was Rs 89, slightly higher than the Rs 88 it reported in the previous quarter. As of December 31, 2018, the company had over 38.72 crore subscribers compared to 42.23 crore in the previous quarter and 43.54 crores in April-June period last year.

In the quarter, depreciation and amortization charges were Rs 4770 crore and Interest and Finance charges were Rs 2,610 crore. Capex for the quarter was Rs 1,170 crore which is expected to rise in Q4 as contracts with suppliers were finalized during Q3.―Business Today