Telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on Monday (January 29) reported a net loss of ₹6,985.9 crore for the third quarter that ended December 31, 2023. In the corresponding quarter last year, Vodafone Idea posted a net loss of ₹7,990 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company's revenue from operations increased 0.49% to ₹10,673 crore against ₹10,621 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. At the operating level, EBITDA increased 4.1% to ₹4,180 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal over ₹4,350 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
The 4G subscriber base continued to grow for the tenth successive quarter and stood at 125.6 million as of December 31, 2023, against 121.6 million in Q3FY23, an addition of 4.1 million 4G subscribers.
The overall subscriber base stood at 215.2 million. ARPU (average revenue per user) improved to ₹145, up 7.4% on a year-on-year basis against ₹135 in Q3 of FY23, primarily aided by a change in the entry-level plan and subscriber upgrades. The total data traffic for the quarter witnessed a year-on-year growth of 4.2%.
The company is in discussion with various technology partners for finalisation of its 5G rollout strategy and is working with many partners to develop 5G use cases relevant to the Indian market and build device ecosystems. Also, Vodafone Idea is in the advance stage of 5G trials of embracing new technologies such as vRAN & ORAN.
Depreciation & amortisation expenses and finance costs (net) for the quarter are ₹5,600 crore and ₹6,490 crore, respectively. Excluding the impact of Ind AS 116, the depreciation & amortisation expenses and finance costs for the quarter stood at ₹4,120 crore and ₹5,580 crore, respectively. Capex spending for the quarter stood at ₹330 crore and capex for the first nine months at ₹1,300 crore.
The total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) as of December 31, 2023, stood at ₹2,14,960 crore, comprising deferred spectrum payment obligations of ₹1,38,240 crore and AGR liability of ₹69,020 crore that are due to the government; debt from banks and financial institutions of ₹6,050 crore; and optionally convertible debentures amounting to ₹1,660 crore.
The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd ended at ₹14.70, up by ₹0.090, or 0.62%, on the BSE.
