Vodafone Idea losses decline in Q3 as revenues inch up

Vodafone Idea's (Vi) net loss narrowed sequentially to ₹5,286 crore in the fiscal third quarter, from ₹5,524 crore in the quarter ended September, driven by improving 4G/5G subscriber mix and revenues, even though it continued to be dragged by overall customer losses.

The management termed it as a turnaround quarter with substantial relief on statutory dues, a successful fundraise as well as one-time receivable from the group company. "This quarter marked an important inflection point for the company with positive resolution of key legacy issues," said Abhijit Kishore, chief executive, Vodafone Idea. "We are thankful to the government for offering a definitive, long-term and conclusive solution on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) matter. We also concluded the settlement of CLAM receivable of ₹6,394 crore with the Vodafone Group."

This month Vi received a 10-year relaxation on the bulk of its AGR liabilities, in a major cashflow relief to the debt-laden telecom operator, which was facing a ₹16,400 crore payment due in March 2026. "Based on recent developments with respect to AGR matter as mentioned...the group is confident of generating sufficient cashflow from operations to meet its obligations including lenders, spectrum and AGR dues payable over the next 12 months as and when they fall due," Vi's auditors noted.


"One of the key milestones for the quarter was the successful non-convertible debenture (NCD) raise of ₹3,300 crore (by pledging Vi's infrastructure subsidiary), despite an AGR overhang, a clear reflection of lender confidence on our ability to improve the business performance," Kishore said. "Collectively, these developments have strengthened the trajectory of our debt discussions which will enable us to execute our larger capex plan to strengthen the network and further elevate the customer experience," he added.

But, the joint venture between UK's Vodafone and India's Aditya Birla Group continued to battle with operational challenges.

The telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) - a key performance metric - grew to ₹172 compared to ₹167 in the preceding quarter, driven by higher data consumption. Meanwhile, Vi's larger rival, Reliance Jio, reported an ARPU of ₹213.7 during the third quarter. Bharti Airtel's ARPU in the September-October period stood at ₹256 a month.

The Sunil Mittal-led telco is yet to report Q3 results.

Vi's quarterly revenue grew 1.9% on-year and 1.1% sequentially to ₹11,323 crore, boosted by higher ARPU.

The company ended the December quarter with 192.9 million subscribers compared with 196.7 million in the July-September period. However, its 4G/5G subscribers base grew marginally from 127.8 million by September-end to 128.5 million by December.

During the quarter, Vi completed its 5G rollout in 43 cities across 17 circles, which constitute 99% of the telco's revenue base.

Ahead of the results, the telco's shares closed 0.91% lower at ₹9.84 on the BSE Tuesday, while the benchmark index rose 0.39%.