Telecom firm Vodafone Idea reports higher quarterly revenue alongside a wider net loss

Vodafone Idea posted a 6.2 percent rise in its revenue from operations to Rs 11,884 crore for the September quarter, up from Rs 11,195 crore in the same period last year. The company grew its revenue by expanding its 4G and 5G networks and improving customer realisations.

Losses and Earnings

Despite the revenue growth, the company reported a higher net loss of Rs 5,975 crore for the quarter, compared to a net loss of Rs 5,524 crore in the year-ago period. This wider loss was driven mainly by the adverse impact of mark-to-market adjustments on treasury assets. When excluding exceptional items, the net loss stood at Rs 5,513 crore, which is slightly lower than the Rs 5,562 crore recorded in the September quarter of the previous financial year. Meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 6.3 percent to Rs 4,981 crore, and cash EBITDA rose 11.2 percent to Rs 2,498 crore.

Network and Subscribers

The Indian government holds a 49 percent stake in the telecom operator. During the quarter, the firm spent Rs 3,946 crore on capital expenditure and placed orders worth over Rs 13,200 crore for its three-year investment plan. The subscriber base reached 194.4 million at the end of September, compared to 193.1 million in the preceding quarter. The 4G and 5G subscriber count increased to 131 million from 127.8 million a year ago. Average revenue per user rose to Rs 178 from Rs 167, while ARPU excluding machine-to-machine connections climbed 9.7 percent to Rs 198. The company expanded 5G services to 400 cities and towns across 17 circles and added nearly 9,000 broadband towers, bringing its total unique broadband towers to about 2.14 lakh.

Context

Telecom operators in India are investing heavily in network upgrades and 5G expansion to compete for high-value data users. Rising data consumption and customer upgrades to faster networks are key drivers for improving average revenue per user in the telecom sector.