Vodafone Idea, which became India's largest telecom operator after the merger of British operator's India unit and Aditya Birla-promoted firm, continues to bleed amid intense competition. For the third quarter ended December 2018 (Q3), it posted a consolidated loss of Rs 5,005.7 crore.
The merger was a result of consolidation following the entry of Reliance Jio with its free voice calls and dirt-cheap data tariffs.
The loss, though, was narrower than analysts' forecast of Rs 5,256 crore indicated by Refinitiv Eikon data, according to Reuters.
Vodafone Idea had a recorded a loss of Rs 1,284.5 crore in the same quarter a year ago. However, the year-on-year figure is not comparable as the merger between Vodafone and Idea got completed on August 31, 2018. On a sequential basis, the loss widened from Rs 4,950 crore.
Rival Bharti Airtel posted a 72% profit decline for the third quarter.
Except for Jio, which reported a 65% jump in its net income for the quarter ended December 31, no other player has been able to generate profits.
Vodafone Idea's total income stood at Rs 11,982.8 crore during the reported quarter. Sequentially, it grew by 52% as compared to Rs 7,878.6 crore in the July-September quarter.
The average revenue per user (Arpu) came in at Rs 89, up 1.5 % sequentially.
The company said in a statement that the introduction of service validity vouchers and other commercial initiatives resulted in a turnaround in revenue trends during the quarter, reflected in a month-on-month increase in daily revenues in December 2018. This trend continued in January 2019.
However, these actions led to higher churn of 'incoming only' or 'minimal Arpu' customers and reduced the total subscriber base to 387.2 million in the third quarter compared to 422.3 million in the second quarter.
Vodafone Idea lost over 35 million users during the quarter. Though, 4G subscriber base went up by 9.5 million to hit 75.3 million.
"We are moving faster than expected on integration, specifically on the network front, and we are well on track to deliver our synergy targets," Vodafone Idea CEO Balesh Sharma said.
"We remain focused on fortifying our position in key districts by expanding the coverage and capacity of our 4G network, and target a higher share of new 4G customers while offering an enhanced network experience to our customers. The proceeds from the announced capital raise will put us in a strong position to achieve our strategic goals," Sharma said.
During the quarter, the Board has approved a rights issue of up to Rs 25,000 crore.
The data volume grew 11.5% to 2,705 billion MB in Q3 as compared to the previous quarter and average monthly data usage per data subscriber improved to 6.2 GB versus 5.6 GB in the second quarter. The total minutes on the network declined by 2.6% during the quarter, largely attributable to the introduction of service validity vouchers.
SILVER LINING
- The average revenue per user came in at Rs 89, up 1.5 % sequentially
- 4G subscriber base went up by 9.5 million to hit 75.3 million
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Vodafone Idea had a recorded a loss of Rs 1,284.5 crore in the same quarter a year ago. However, the year-on-year figure is not comparable as the merger between Vodafone and Idea got completed on August 31, 2018. On a sequential basis, the loss widened from Rs 4,950 crore.
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