Latest news with #AGR
Hans India
2 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Vodafone Idea's net loss widens to Rs 7,166 crore in Q4, revenue slips
Mumbai: Vodafone Idea has reported a wider net loss of Rs 7,166.1 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 (Q4 FY25), compared to a loss of Rs 6,609.3 crore in the previous quarter (Q3 FY25). This rise in losses comes despite some year-on-year improvement, as the loss had stood at Rs 7,674.6 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal (Q4 FY24), according to its stock exchange filing. The telecom company also saw a decline in its revenue from operations, which dropped slightly to Rs 11,013.5 crore in Q4 from Rs 11,117.3 crore in Q3 -- a decrease of around 0.93 per cent. Total income also slipped by about 1.22 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to Rs 11,228.3 crore. At the same time, total expenses rose to Rs 18,396.4 crore from Rs 17,973.6 crore in the previous quarter, reflecting a 2.35 per cent increase. While Vodafone Idea reported a year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth of 3.8 per cent in Q4, that was not enough to offset its rising costs and ongoing financial stress. The average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 175 in Q4 FY25 from Rs 153 in Q4 FY24, driven by tariff hikes and customer upgrades. The company's financial struggles remain deep. For the full fiscal year ended March 2025, Vodafone Idea reported a total loss of Rs 27,383.4 crore, and its net worth stood at a negative Rs 70,320.2 crore. The total outstanding debt continues to loom large. It owes Rs 2,345.1 crore to banks and has deferred spectrum and AGR-related payments of Rs 1.95 lakh crore, which will be due over the next two decades. Vodafone Idea's board has approved a fundraising plan of up to Rs 20,000 crore, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, in an attempt to ease the burden. The company also said it remains in dialogue with the government for possible relief on its long-standing AGR dues, even after the Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea for waiver of interest and penalties. Despite these challenges, the company said it is preparing its financials on a going-concern basis, expressing hope that with government support, successful fundraising, and operational cash flow, it can continue its business in the coming year.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Vi plans another Rs20,000 cr fundraise, remains hopeful of government support
Vodafone Idea Ltd's board approved raising another ₹ 20,000 crore through a further public offering (FPO), private placement, or other permissible mode to stay afloat, it said in an exchange filing on 30 May after reporting losses for another quarter amid never-ending financial troubles. India's third-largest telecom operator said it was confident of gaining government support, successfully arranging funding, and generating cash flow from operations, and announced that a Capital Raising Committee will evaluate and decide on the potential route of fundraising. The debt-laden company declared its March quarter results days after pleading before the Supreme Court for a waiver of massive government dues as banks refused it further loans. The court had rejected the plea. In the petition, the telco had said it would not be able to operate beyond the current fiscal year without bank funding, which remains elusive as lenders remain wary of its dues worth ₹ 84,000 crore linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Before approaching the court, the company had submitted a similar representation to the government, seeking a waiver of interest, penalty, and interest on penalty on its AGR dues, which was not entertained. 'In the company's view, this dismissal does not preclude it from further engaging with the Government of India based on its foreseeable cash flows for arriving at an appropriate solution on the AGR matter before the next instalment date,' the telecom operator said in its financial statement. However, a government four-year moratorium on payments of AGR and spectrum dues for telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, ends in September, making it even more difficult for the company. In the absence of any relief, starting 31 March 2026, it must pay an annual instalment of over ₹ 18,000 crore for the next six years towards AGR and spectrum dues to the government. In 2025-26 itself, it will have to pay ₹ 16,428 crore towards AGR dues and ₹ 2,539 crore towards deferred spectrum dues. Vodafone Idea said amounts pertaining to some of the years are subject to correction/revision due to the disposal of representations and any other outcome of litigation. The amounts will be finally determined by 31 December 2025 and are payable in six equal instalments after the moratorium period starts from 31 March 2026. But first, it desperately needs an operational turnaround. In line with the Street estimates, its net loss for the fourth quarter of 2024-25 widened sequentially to ₹ 7,166 crore from ₹ 6,609 crore. The same was ₹ 7,675 crore a year ago. The sequential rise in losses can be attributed to an increase in expenses, especially finance costs, which include interest payments on debt and other liabilities. Finance costs, accounting for 59% of its revenue from operations, rose 9% quarter-on-quarter and 3% year-on-year to ₹ 6,471 crore. An average of six brokerage firms' estimates had pegged losses at ₹ 7,162.5 crore. Its revenue from operations rose 4% on-year to ₹ 11,014 crore, in line with estimates, owing to improvement in its subscriber mix and an increase in postpaid users. The revenue, however, was down nearly 1% sequentially owing to continuous subscriber loss, largely in the lower-end segment. 'This has been a turnaround quarter for us, marked by the highest average daily revenue in the past five years and a significant reduction in subscriber loss,' said Akshaya Moondra, chief executive of Vodafone Idea. 'Early indicators show improvement across key business metrics and with our ongoing investments, we are well placed to effectively participate in the growth opportunity offered by the Industry,' Moondra said, adding that the company remains engaged with lenders to secure debt financing to support our broader capex plans of ₹ 50,000–55,000 crore. Owing to a rise in revenue on a year-on-year basis, Vodafone Idea's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 7.5% to ₹ 4,660 crore. On a quarterly basis, Ebitda fell 1.1% due to an increase in expenses and a decline in revenue from operations. Vodafone Idea declared its results late Friday night, after the bourses closed. Its shares closed 3.2% lower at ₹ 6.92 on BSE. Even as Vodafone Idea has been losing subscribers for a long time now, the company's subscriber churn rate has slowed down during the March quarter. Compared to the loss of 5 million subscribers each in the September and December quarters, its subscriber churn slowed down to 1.6 million in the fourth quarter. As of 31 March, it had 198.2 million mobile subscribers. Sequentially, its blended subscriber churn fell to 4.1% from 4.5%. The company's 4G/5G subscribers rose to 126.4 million from 126 million in the quarter-ago period. The company's postpaid subscribers were 25.6 million, up from 25.2 million in the preceding quarter and 23.9 million in the year-ago period. The telco has been improving its 4G services with network upgrades and has also started rolling out 5G, with Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Patna being the first circles. On 15 May, it launched 5G in Delhi and said it was targeting to expand the services in all 17 circles by August 2025. However, analysts at BofA Securities said in a 7 April note that VIL (Vodafone Idea) was still some point away from showing positive net adds. Its average revenue per user (Arpu), a key performance metric, rose marginally to ₹ 164 from ₹ 163 in the preceding quarter, in line with estimates. Two fewer days during the March quarter caused a largely flat Arpu, offsetting the company's improved subscriber mix. Further, the impact of the July tariff hikes also ebbed. In comparison, Airtel's India Arpu was flat at ₹ 245 in the quarter, whereas Reliance Jio's Arpu rose to ₹ 206.2 from ₹ 203.3 in the December quarter. Vodafone Idea has been grappling with huge dues. As of 31 March, its total government dues stood at around ₹ 2 trillion, including ₹ 1.19 trillion in spectrum dues and ₹ 83,400 crore AGR dues. Its outstanding debt from banks (including interest accrued but not due) was ₹ 2,345 crore. In March, the government offered another reprieve to the company by converting an additional ₹ 36,950 crore worth of statutory dues into equity. This was the second dues conversion that took the government's stake in Vodafone Idea to 49%. On 2 June, at the earnings call, analysts and investors will closely watch for the company's commentary on the AGR dues, any clarity from the government on possible relief, fundraising prospects, the company's sustainability post-2025-26, and future tariff hikes.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Telecom revenues set to rise 12–14% this fiscal on tariff hikes: ICRA
Revenue s in the telecom industry are expected to grow steadily in the current fiscal, with analysts expecting a 12-14% growth in operating income at 3.5-3.7 lakh crore on the back of tariff hikes implemented in July 2024. According to a report by ICRA , the tariff hikes translated to a healthy growth in average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance metric, which though remains the lowest globally. ARPU levels are projected to have increased to ₹200 in FY2025, from ₹184 the previous fiscal. Another tariff hike, expected by the end of FY2026, is expected to rally ARPU levels to ₹220. The ratings firm noted that steady increase in 4G/5G subscribers and traction in data usage led to a rise in industry AGR (adjusted gross revenue) over the last few quarters. Industry AGR improved to around ₹65,673 crore in the December quarter, translating to 11% growth on-year. However, growth in AGR is primarily being driven by the tariff hikes implemented in 2024. Data subscribers have been growing at a healthy pace on account of the proliferation of cheaper smartphones and availability of content, ICRA said, adding that the penetration of broadband subscribers reached 79% as of December 2024. Cheaper smartphones, coupled with low data tariffs, are driving the demand for data. Further, content availability and increased broadband speed have also helped increase the monthly data usage per subscriber to around 21.52 GB per month, ICRA said. It expects industry profitability to grow by 12-14% in FY2025 to cross ₹1.6 lakh crore, followed by a 10-12% expansion in FY2026. The brokerage said the industry has upfronted a significant capex for 5G rollouts in FY2024 and FY2025, adding that capex intensity is likely to have peaked, and is expected to subsequently moderate going forward. The industry capex is likely to be around ₹3 lakh crore over the next 3-4 years. However, the absence of retail-based use cases for 5G, and expensive customer equipment and low fiberisation levels (estimated to be around 38% of total towers) pose a threat to 5G expansion, ICRA said. This has also constrained ARPU growth to some extent. The total industry debt is estimated to increase to around ₹6.6 lakh crore as on March 31, 2025, and is expected to see a steady moderation going forward. This increase is partly attributable to the addition of deferred debt obligations, which stem from AGR liabilities and spectrum auctions of FY2022 and FY2023, and recently in FY2025. The industry's debt to operating income ratio is likely to remain at 3.9-4 times with interest coverage at 3.3 times for FY2025. This is expected to improve in the current fiscal.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'No more conversion of equity in Voda-Idea'
Jyotiraditya Scindia Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said government has no plans to provide any relief on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) front to telecom companies after the Supreme Court struck down their plea for a waiver of interest and penalty. In an interview with TOI, the minister also made it clear that beleaguered Vodafone Idea will not receive any further equity conversion from government beyond the current 49%, and it's now the company's responsibility to take care of profit and loss and the balance sheet. Excerpts: Struggling Vodafone Idea has come to govt time and again for support. How long can you give this long rope to the company? Every company has to chart its own path. Profit and loss and the balance sheet are the responsibility of the management of each company - be it BSNL, Vodafone Idea, Jio, or Airtel. Based on govt policy, we converted close to Rs 36,000 crore of Vodafone Idea's dues into equity. We are today at 49%. I do not see us increasing that equity stake in the near future, at all. It's the responsibility of each company. How long can you wait for a turnaround? At least some bit of accountability is needed because this is public money going into saving a company... They have to define their own path at end of the day. That's the job of CEO of Vodafone Idea. Are you in regular touch with them? I don't believe in meddling in a company's affairs, whether it be a PSU or where govt has a stake. But if and when they come to us, we certainly meet them and hear them out. SC has refused relief to telcos on AGR matter. Does govt plan to bring out legislation to protect the companies from penalty and interest? There's nothing on my table at this point, so I can't comment. I think the Supreme Court has ruled on the matter, and that's where it stands. . Trai has given its recommendations On satellite communications. When will DoT approve them? We will start processing it. The department will look at it and then take a call. When will satcom services begin? I can't give you a very definitive timeline, but I can assure you that we are trying to do this sooner rather than later. Any healthy market has a mix of local and global players. Elon Musk is coming with Starlink and Amazon wants to come with Project Kuiper. Do you think it's good to have global competition? I can only say my market is open for you. Whoever wants to come into my market, check all the boxes in terms of the rules and regulations and processes, we want you here. For me, the choice for my customers is paramount. Just like the fixed line space or the mobile space or the broadband space, similarly in satellite, I want competition. Everyone is welcome here. Tick the boxes. Hurry up and start business. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
icra: Telecom revenues set to rise 12–14% this fiscal on tariff hikes
ADVERTISEMENT Revenues in the telecom industry are expected to grow steadily in the current fiscal, with analysts expecting a 12-14% growth in operating income at Rs 3.5-3.7 lakh crore on the back of tariff hikes implemented in July to a report by ICRA , the tariff hikes translated to a healthy growth in average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance metric, which though remains the lowest globally. ARPU levels are projected to have increased to Rs 200 in FY2025, from Rs 184 the previous fiscal. Another tariff hike, expected by the end of FY2026, is expected to rally ARPU levels to Rs ratings firm noted that steady increase in 4G/5G subscribers and traction in data usage led to a rise in industry AGR (adjusted gross revenue) over the last few quarters. Industry AGR improved to around Rs 65,673 crore in the December quarter, translating to 11% growth on-year. However, growth in AGR is primarily being driven by the tariff hikes implemented in subscribers have been growing at a healthy pace on account of the proliferation of cheaper smartphones and availability of content, ICRA said, adding that the penetration of broadband subscribers reached 79% as of December 2024. Cheaper smartphones, coupled with low data tariffs, are driving the demand for data. Further, content availability and increased broadband speed have also helped increase the monthly data usage per subscriber to around 21.52 GB per month, ICRA expects industry profitability to grow by 12-14% in FY2025 to cross Rs 1.6 lakh crore, followed by a 10-12% expansion in FY2026. The brokerage said the industry has upfronted a significant capex for 5G rollouts in FY2024 and FY2025, adding that capex intensity is likely to have peaked, and is expected to subsequently moderate going forward. The industry capex is likely to be around Rs 3 lakh crore over the next 3-4 the absence of retail-based use cases for 5G, and expensive customer equipment and low fiberisation levels (estimated to be around 38% of total towers) pose a threat to 5G expansion, ICRA said. This has also constrained ARPU growth to some total industry debt is estimated to increase to around Rs 6.6 lakh crore as on March 31, 2025, and is expected to see a steady moderation going forward. This increase is partly attributable to the addition of deferred debt obligations, which stem from AGR liabilities and spectrum auctions of FY2022 and FY2023, and recently in industry's debt to operating income ratio is likely to remain at 3.9-4 times with interest coverage at 3.3 times for FY2025. This is expected to improve in the current fiscal.
