Vodafone Idea Q1 FY25 Losses Narrow to Rs 6,432.1 Crore

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) Vodafone Idea on Monday said its losses for the just-ended June quarter narrowed to Rs 6,432.1 crore, mainly on the back of 4G subscriber additions.

The telecom firm said it is in the midst of expanding 4G coverage and capacity and launching 5G services post the recent fundraising.

VIL's losses stood at Rs 7,840 crore in Q1 FY24 and Rs 7,674.6 crore in Q4 FY24.

The revenue dipped 1.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,508.3 crore in the fiscal first quarter ended June 2024. The company said its ARPU for the quarter stood at Rs 146 against Rs 139 in Q1 FY24, which translates into a year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent.

Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said, "Post the recent equity raise, we are in the process of expanding our 4G coverage and capacity as well as the launch of 5G services".

Some capex has already been ordered and is under the execution basis, which the telco expects about a 15 per cent increase in its data capacity and an increase in 4G population coverage by about 16 million by September 2024, he informed.

"Our current capex needs are being met out of equity funds. We are engaged, with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our network expansion with a planned capex of Rs 500 to 550 billion (Rs 50,000-55,000 crore) over the next three years," he said.

The recent tariff intervention is "a step in the right direction" for the industry to move towards better return on investment as well as to improve cash generation to support the large investment requirements, according to the company.

"However, further tariff rationalisation is needed for the industry to fully cover its cost of capital," Moondra noted.

VIL's total debt from banks and financial institutions stood at Rs 4,650 crore, and optionally convertible debentures at Rs 160 crore as of June 30, 2024.

"The debt from banks and financial institutions reduced by Rs 45.5 billion during the last one year (from Rs 92 billion in Q1FY24). The cash and bank balance stood at Rs 181.5 billion as of June 30, 2024," as per VIL.

The payment obligations to the government stood at Rs 2,09,520 crore as of June 30, 2024, including deferred spectrum payment obligations and AGR liability, the company said.

VIL said that after the recent fundraiser, it is working towards "high impact and quickly executable priorities".

"As a result, we have increased our data capacity by about 7 per cent till date and expect to grow the data capacity by about 15 per cent and 4G population coverage by about 16 million by the end of September 2024," Voda Idea said.

The company has completely shut down 3G sites in seven circles, with Haryana getting added to the list of 6 others -- namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Mumbai and Kolkata.

VIL said it is in the process of shutting down 3G across other circles as well.

"Our overall broadband site count stood at about 417,250 as of June 30, 2024, and during the quarter we added about 6,600 4G sites," it said.