Vodafone Idea Q4 earnings: Telecom operator's loss widens to Rs 7,675 crore in March quarter

Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported widening of losses to Rs 7,675 crore in the March quarter amid rise in interest and financing cost.

The company had registered a loss of Rs 6,419 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated revenue of operations remained almost flat about Rs 10,607 crore during the reported quarter.

For the year ended March 31, 2024, Vodafone Idea (VIL) posted widening of loss to Rs 31,238.4 crore from Rs 29,301.1 crore a year ago.

The annual revenue from operations was marginally higher by 1.1 per cent to Rs 42,651.7 crore from Rs 42,177.2 crore in 2022-23.

"We registered growth in ARPU and 4G subscribers for 11 successive quarters. Our equity fund raise of about Rs 215 billion (Rs 21,500 crore) will enable us to kickstart the investment cycle to expand our 4G coverage as well as launch 5G services to effectively participate in the industry growth opportunities.

"We are engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our overall network expansion plan," VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra said in a statement.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) of the company grew 7.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 146.

"We are in discussions with consortium of banks to raise up to Rs 250 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) and additional non-fund based facilities of up to Rs 100 billion (Rs 10,000 crore). Post the telecom reforms package in September 2021, our bank exposure has reduced by approximately Rs 346 billion," the statement said.