Vodafone Idea Ltd. will make a strategic announcement on Monday as it looks to take on rivals that have been luring subscribers from the struggling No. 3 wireless carrier in a fiercely competitive market.
The leadership team of Vodafone Idea will address the media through a virtual platform at 11:45 a.m., it said in an invitation to the media triggering speculation on the announcement - ranging from the launch of a new brand identity to the induction of marquee investors.
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This comes a couple of days after the carrier's board approved up to Rs 25,000-crore fundraising by way of either issuing equity shares, global depository receipts, American depository receipts, foreign currency bonds, convertible debentures, or warrants. Besides, a Reuters report said Amazon and Verizon are planning to invest $4 billion in the company. While that sent the shares of the company soaring, the board had clarified on the bourses that currently there is no such proposal that is being considered.
The billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla and Vodafone Group Plc.-owned carrier has recently received some legal relief from the Supreme Court in a near two-decade battle with the government over calculation of adjusted gross revenue. The company owes Rs 50,400 crore to the Department of Telecommunications in past dues, and is weighed down by the Rs 1,65,900-crore debt (including AGR liabilities).
The operator hasn't reported an annual profit since the combination was announced in 2017, hit by the brutal tariff war unleased by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Vodafone Idea's wireless subscribers fell to 30.9 crore as of May 2020 compared with Reliance Jio's 39.27 crore and Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s 31.7 crore.
Vodafone Idea suffered a net loss of Rs 25,460 crore in the quarter ended June. Its revenue fell 9.3% sequentially to Rs 10,660 crore. Its operating profit declined 6% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,100 crore. The company also lost 580 basis points in revenue market share during the period.
The total promoter shareholding stood at 72.05% as of June 2020. While Indian promoters hold 18.48%, foreign promoters hold 53.57%. Financial institutions hold a 10.8% stake, with foreign investors and mutual funds owning 7.19% and 2.75%, respectively.
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