Indus Towers says SC’s Voda Idea AGR ruling to guide dividend decision; Africa foray expected in 3-6 months

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Wireless communication tower operator Indus Towers has welcomed Supreme Court’s decision allowing Centre to reassess Vodafone Idea’s (Vi) Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues without judicial intervention, calling it a positive step for the industry that will help the tower company make informed decisions on potential cash returns or dividend payout to shareholders.

“This is a good development for the industry in general. We welcome the support. As and when clarity emerges, it will help us make the right decisions,” Managing Director and CEO Prachur Sah said during the company’s September quarter earnings call on October 28.

Prachur Sah said Indus Towers remains committed to consider distributing cash to shareholders by the end of the fiscal. “As I mentioned in the previous quarter, the board is committed to distribute cash to shareholders, and the timing still remains at the end of Q4,” said the MD and CEO.

According to Prachur Sah, the uncertainty around AGR dues was among several factors, along with capital expenditure, that the company has considered before deciding on dividends.

Indus Towers also plans to foray into Africa in the next 3-6 months, starting with Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia, as part of its long-term growth strategy.

“Our entry into Africa is supported by an anchor customer. We will leverage Airtel’s strong presence in these markets,” Sah said, adding that the initial phase will be modest and focused on building new towers, understanding local operations and developing a solid operating model before scaling up.

“We strongly believe Africa is where India was a few years back, offering strong growth opportunities for both telecom operators and tower companies. We intend to replicate Indus’ proven operating model by building high-quality, cost-efficient infrastructure tailored to local conditions,” Sah said.

The Africa foray will involve a capital expenditure of $200-300 million, CFO Vikas Poddar said. “From a full-scale perspective, that could be the level of capex. Over time, we aim for a balanced capital structure with an appropriate mix of debt and equity,” the CFO added.

Despite a slowdown in tenancies from one major customer, Indus added a strong number of towers in Q2FY26 and expects growth to pick up in coming quarters.

India’s total 5G base stations have now crossed 5 lakh, though the pace of rollout has recently moderated. “Ongoing deployments continue to support our loading revenues. As adoption deepens and data consumption scales, this could drive demand for additional sites for capacity expansion and maintaining high network quality,” Sah said.

The MD and CEO added that with strong customer partnerships and ongoing 5G deployments, Indus is well-positioned to capture emerging growth opportunities.

For the quarter ended September 30, Indus Towers reported a 17.3 percent on-year decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,836.6 crore. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,736.8 crore in Q1FY26.

The total revenue grew by 9.7 percent on-year to Rs 8,188.2 crore, up from Rs 7,465.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.