Telecom firm Vodafone Idea Ltd on February 11 reported its net loss narrowed marginally to Rs 6,609 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2024 as against Rs 6,986-crore net loss in the year-ago period.
The telco's revenue from operations rose 4% to Rs 11,117 crore in Q3FY25 as against Rs 10,673 crore in Q3FY24.
On February 11, Vodafone Idea's shares on BSE closed 3% lower at Rs 8.82 apiece.
“We are driving investments and the velocity of capex deployment is set to accelerate in the coming quarters. Concurrently, the phased rollout of 5G services is underway, targeting key geographies. We are pleased to report highest quarterly cash EBITDA since merger of Rs 2,450 crore, registering a YoY growth of 15%. With our intensifying investments, we anticipate further improvement in both operational and financial performance," Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said in a statement.
Moondra said that with the recent equity infusion of Rs 1,910 crore from one of Vi's promoters, the telco has now secured approximately Rs.260 billion in fresh equity capital over the past 10 months.
Vi is continuing to engage with lenders for debt financing for planned network expansion investment of Rs 50,000–55,000 crore over a three-year period. "The government’s decision on the bank guarantee waiver underscores its ongoing support for the telecom sector—a critical pillar of Digital India’s future," he added.
In December 2024, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), extended its support to the telecom industry by dispensing with the requirement of Bank Guarantee to be submitted for spectrum auctions held prior to the Telecom Reform package 2021 with certain conditions. Prior to this reform, BGs aggregating to ~Rs. 247.5 billion were to be provided. As per the communication received from DoT, no BGs are required to be provided for the auctions until 2021, except a one-time requirement to provide BG for partial shortfall for the 2015 auction for a
period of one year.
"It is important to note that this BG waiver confirms government’s continued support to the telecom sector. This reform will also ensure that the exposure of the banking system is utilized by telecom operators towards further proliferation of 4G and 5G networks in India," the telco said.
The firm's ARPU rose to Rs 173 in December quarter from Rs 166 a quarter ago, a rise of 4.7%, driven by tariff hikes and customer upgrading to higher plans.
The 4G subscriber base stood at 126 million at the end of Q3FY25, increasing from 125.6 million as of Q3FY24. Vi's total subscriber base stood at 199.8 million in the December quarter, down from 215.2 million in the third quarter of last fiscal.
Capex spend for Q3FY25 was Rs 32.1 billion, taking the capex for the nine months to Rs. 53.3 billion. The telco said its network rollout will accelerate further in Q4FY25 with the full year expected capex of ~Rs. 100 billion.
"The debt from banks reduced by Rs. 52.9 billion during the last one year and stood at Rs. 23.3 billion (was at Rs. 76.2 billion in Q3FY24). The cash and bank balance stood at Rs. 120.9 billion as of December 31, 2024," the telco said in the statement.
Out of the Rs 18,000 crore raised through its Further Public Offer (FPO) in April last year, Vodafone Idea reported utilizing Rs 6,199.94 crore. This included Rs 1,982.39 crore for deferred spectrum payments to the DoT and GST, Rs 1,528.67 crore for the purchase of 4G and 5G equipment, and Rs 2,688.88 crore for general corporate purposes.
The telco plans to allocate Rs 12,750 crore from the FPO proceeds specifically for the purchase of 4G and 5G equipment.
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