Vodafone Idea Q3 results: Consolidated net loss narrows to Rs 4,532 cr on one-time gain

MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea today reported a consolidated net loss of Rs. 4,532.4 crore for the quarter ended December as against a net loss of Rs. 7,218.5 crore in the previous quarter. The company’s revenues for the period grew 1 per cent on-quarter to Rs. 10,894 crore.

Analysts had expected the company to report a consolidated net loss of Rs. 6,463.2 crore on revenues of Rs. 10,842.28 crore.

During the quarter the company saw a one-time net gain of Rs. 1,696.5 crore, which includes gains made on sale of its stake in Indus Towers. In the previous quarter, the company had reported a one-time loss of Rs. 767.1 crore.

Vodafone Idea said that it is in active discussions with potential investors to raise capital after its board in the previous quarter had approved fund raising of Rs. 25,000 crore.

Vodafone Idea’s consolidated operating profit in the quarter rose 3.2 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis to Rs. 4,286.2 crore. The telecom operator’s consolidated operating margin expanded 80 basis points from the previous quarter to 39.3 per cent.

“In Q3FY21, we improved subscriber retention and operating performance,” said Ravinder Takkar, managing director and chief executive officer at Vodafone Idea in an earnings statement.

“We remain focused on executing our strategy, and our cost optimization plan remains on track to deliver the targeted savings,” Takkar said.

Vodafone Idea said that it was on-track to achieve its previously mentioned costs savings target off Rs. 4,000 crore by December 2021. The company said that it has already achieved 50 per cent of the targeted operating efficiency in the December quarter.

Crucially, the company said that its average revenue per user in the quarter improved to Rs. 121 from Rs. 119 in the previous quarter. The company also said that its gross subscriber additions improved in the quarter, while user churn reduced to 2.3 per cent in the December quarter from 2.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

The telecom operator’s subscriber base declined 2 million in the December quarter to 269.8 million. Vodafone Idea’s 4G subscriber base stood at 109.7 million on December 31, up 3.6 million from the previous quarter.

The company’s gross debt at the end of the December quarter was at Rs. 1.1 lakh crore.

On Friday, shares of the company had ended 4.7 per cent lower at Rs. 12.30 on the National Stock Exchange.