Debt-laden telecom Vodafone Idea Monday reported a reduction of 18 per cent year on year in consolidated net loss to ₹6,432 crore in the first quarter of the financial year 2024-2025. The telco has reported a net loss of ₹7,840 in the first quarter of the 2023-2024 fiscal.
Revenue from operations was down 1.3 per cent to ₹10,508.3 crore from ₹10,655.5 crore in the June quarter.
The ARPU came in at ₹146 in the quarter, up 4.5 per cent y-o-y from ₹139, primarily aided by a change in the price of the entry-level packs according to the operator. “The 4G subscriber base continued to grow for the twelfth successive quarter. The 4G subscriber base stood at 126.7 million at the end of Q1FY25 vs 122.9 million in Q1FY24, an addition of 3.8 million 4G subscribers over the last one year,” the operator added.
Network expansion
The operator is endeavouring to increase the capacity of its 4G network post a successful fundraise. Vi noted in its quarterly report, “Post the fundraise, we are working towards high impact and quickly executable priorities. As a result, we have increased our data capacity by ~7 per cent till date and expect to grow the data capacity by approximately 15 per cent and 4G population coverage by approximately 16 million by the end of September 2024. We have expanded Voice over WiFi in our priority circles and at select locations in other circles.”
CEO Akshay Moondra added, “Our current Capex needs are being met out of equity funds. We are engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our network expansion with a planned capex of ₹500-550 billion over the next 3 years. The recent tariff intervention is a step in the right direction for the industry to move towards better return on investment, as well as to improve cash generation to support the large investment requirements. However, further tariff rationalization is needed for the industry to fully cover its cost of capital.”
Vodafone Idea reported a 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter decrease in EBITDA margin from 40 per cent in Q4FY24 to 39 per cent in Q1FY25.