Vodafone Idea Ltd. reported greater-than-expected loss in the quarter ended December amid concerns about the telecom operator’s ability to remain in business.
India’s telecom operators are bruised by free calls and cheap data onslaught of Reliance Jio. Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s carrier drove smaller players out and forced Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Ltd. to merge. That didn’t help as the combined entity kept losing users, reported losses and accumulated a huge debt. And the Supreme Court’s October ruling that carriers will have to include non-core revenue to calculate levies dealt another blow.
Vodafone Idea’s peer Bharti Airtel Ltd., too, reported a bigger-than-expected loss in the quarter ended December. The carriers together owe more than Rs 88,000 crore in pending AGR dues to the Department of Telecommunications.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman and co-promoter of Vodafone Idea, in December had said the company would shut shop if the government doesn’t provide relief on the liability it faces on past statutory dues after the apex court’s ruling.
Last month, while the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions of telecom operators seeking a review of the definition of AGR, it agreed to hear their plea seeking more time to negotiate the terms of payment of the back-fees to the government. The Supreme Court will hear the applications on Feb. 14.
We continue to actively engage with the government seeking relief on AGR and other matters. Post dismissal of our review petition, we have filed for modification of the supplementary order with the Supreme Court.Ravinder Takkar, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone Idea
Other Highlights
- Vodafone Idea’s subscriber base fell to 304 million from 311 million in the quarter ended September.
- The company expects tariff hikes to aid its revenue in the future.
Shares of Vodafone Idea remained flat at close, before the results were announced. That compares with a 0.22 percent drop in the benchmark Nifty 50 Index.
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