Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Thursday said its consolidated net loss widened to Rs 8,737.9 crore in the second quarter ended September 30. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 7,595.5 crore a year ago.

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Vodafone Idea (VIL) has made a provisioning of Rs 822 crore for tax liability arising out of a Supreme Court judgement on October 16 to treat revenue share license fee as capital expense.

VIL has incurred a loss of Rs 16,566.7 crore for the six months ended September 30, 2023. Its net worth at the end of the reported quarter stands at negative Rs 90,411.1 crore.

"The net working capital (excluding short-term borrowings, future lease liability and certain accruals toward pending litigations) stands at negative Rs 17,538.6 crore," VIL said in the filing.

Its consolidated revenue from operations was almost flat at Rs 10,716.3 crore during the reported quarter against Rs 10,655.5 crore in the September 2022 quarter.

The average revenue per user (ARPU), a key growth matrix of telecom operators, grew 2.1 per cent to 142 in the September 2023 quarter from Rs 139 in the previous quarter.

"We are pleased to report another quarter of consecutive revenue growth, improvement in ARPU and 4G subscriber additions," VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra said in a statement. VIL's overall subscriber base declined by about 6 per cent to 21.98 crore from 23.44 crore a year ago.

However, the 4G subscriber base of the company grew to 12.47 crore during the reported quarter from about 12 crore in the year-ago period. The average data usage per 4G subscriber increased marginally to 15.8 GB during the September quarter from 15 GB in the same period a year earlier.

"We remain focused on our execution to effectively compete in the market. We remain engaged with our lenders for further debt fundraising as well as with other parties for equity and equity-linked fundraising, to make required investments for network expansion, including 5G rollout," Moondra said.

As of September 30, 2023, the total external debt of the company stood at Rs 2,12,784.6 crore. The total debt on VIL includes deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,35,130 crore and AGR (adjusted gross revenue) liability of Rs 68,180 crore that are due to the government, debt from banks and financial institutions worth Rs 7,860 crore and optionally convertible debentures amounting to Rs 1,610 crore.

"The company has exchanged correspondences and continues to be in discussion with the lenders for the next steps/waivers. The existing debt as payable by September 30, 2024, is Rs 7,174 crore," the filing said.

VIL leadership has made several attempts to raise funds, but apart from a minor infusion of capital from promoters and relief from the government by way of converting dues of around Rs 16,333 into 33.44 per cent equity, there has been no other success for the company.

According to the filing, the company's ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on raising additional funds as required, successful negotiations with lenders and vendors for continued support and the generation of cash flow from operations that it needs to settle its liabilities as they fall due.

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