Vodafone Idea woos Street with gradual revenue growth, better-than-expected ARPU

Vodafone Idea (Vi) shares recovered initial losses to finish stronger on Wednesday, a day after the telecom company reported a mixed set of financial results for the quarter ended December 2022. The Vi stock finished the day with a gain of 0.8 per cent at Rs 7.8 apiece on BSE. 

The company's net loss far exceeded analysts' estimates, though it was the sixth quarter in a row in which Vodafone Idea saw growth in revenue as well as 4G subscribers. 

After market hours on Tuesday, Vodafone Idea reported a net loss of Rs 7,990 crore for the three-month period, as against a net loss of Rs 7,596 crore for the corresponding period a year ago. Its revenue came in at Rs 10,621 crore, barely up on a year-on-year basis, according to a regulatory filing. 

The telecom company's margin — a key measure of profitability — improved by 80 basis points to 39.4 per cent compared with the year-ago period. 

According to Zee Business research, Vi's quarterly net loss was estimated at Rs 7,436 crore, revenue at Rs 10,650 crore and margin at 38.5 per cent. 

The telecom operator's average revenue per user (ARPU) — a metric that determines the money earned from each subscriber — improved by Rs 4 to Rs 135, as against the analysts' estimate of Rs 134. 

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