Vodafone Idea Share Price Rises As Government Waives Bank Guarantees For Past Spectrum Auctions

Vodafone Idea Ltd. share price rose on Monday as the company informed the Government of India waived financial bank guarantees for spectrum acquired in past decades. The waiver is applicable for bank guarantees acquired in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2021, which is subjected to certain terms and condition.

The Department of Telecommunication extended support is applicable in case the pro-rated value of spectrum used from the date of allocation till the end of three months after the due date of payment of next instalment is less than the value of payment made by the telecom operator on a net present value basis.

Vodafone Idea Ltd. was bound to pay Rs 24,800 crore against each spectrum installed, 13 months prior to the installment falling due for the above auctions, the company said in an exchange filing Saturday.

However, there is a one-time partial shortfall only for the 2015 auction, where net present value of all payments made would be less than the pro-rated value of spectrum used. "We are in discussion with the DoT to determine the final amount of this partial shortfall for the 2015 auction,"

Vodafone Idea share price rose 6.96% to 7.99 apiece, the highest level since Dec 17. It was trading 3.75% higher at Rs 7.75 apiece as of 9:38 a.m., as compared to 0.32% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 index.

The stock slumped 54.88% in 12 months, and 52.06% on year to date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.8 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 45.47.

Out of 22 analysts tracking the company, four maintain a 'buy' rating, five recommend a 'hold,' and 13 suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 5.9%.