Vodafone Idea reduces loss to Rs 7,176 crore in July-Sept quarter

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Vodafone Idea has reduced its losses to Rs 7,176 crore in the July-September quarter of the current financial year from Rs 8,738 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations in the reporting period rose marginally by 2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 10,932 crore. On a sequential basis, the loss has widened from Rs 6432 crore posted in the preceding June quarter. Meanwhile, revenues improved 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter, aided by the recent tariff hikes undertaken by all private operators. The company earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter increased to Rs 4,550 crore in the second quarter. This compares with Rs 4283 crore in the last year quarter.

The Telco’s average revenue per user (ARPU), a key indicator of financial performance, improved to Rs 166 in the quarter compared to Rs 154, up 7.8 per cent on a sequential basis, following the tariff hike. The company said its capital expenditure in the first half of 2024-25 was Rs 2,130 crore and the figure for the second half of the financial year would go up to Rs 8,000 crore. Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said, “Post the successful capital raise, we kick-started our 4G expansion drive on an accelerated trajectory. We expanded 4G data capacity by 14 per cent and 4G population coverage by 22 million, and consequently our 4G speeds improved by 18 per cent.

In parallel, we worked on the closure of long-term capex contracts and recently awarded capex deals worth $3.6 billion to three global partners Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung for the supply of network equipment over the next 3 years, he explained. “On the debt raise, we remain engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our network expansion with planned capex of Rs 50,000 crore to 55,000 billion over the next 3 years,” he added.