Debt-laden telecom operator Vodafone Idea reported a loss of ₹6,461 crore in Q4 of FY22, an 8 per cent reduction compared to a loss of ₹7,206.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from operations grew by 6.6 per cent y-o-y to ₹10,166.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, from ₹9,530.9 crore reported in the year-ago period. 

For FY22, the telco saw its losses shrink by 39 per cent, reporting a loss of ₹28,237.2 crore, versus a loss of ₹46,314.5 crore in FY21. Revenue from operations shrank by 8 per cent (₹38,220 crore) versus ₹41,672 crore in FY21.

EBITDA improvement

As per the auditor’s notes, the company’s net worth stands at a negative ₹61,436.2 crore. The total standing debt, including interest as of March 2022, is ₹1.98-lakh crore. As of March 31, ₹6,813.1 crore has been classified from non-current borrowings to current maturities of long-term debt for not meeting certain covenant clauses under the financial agreements. In addition to this, ₹8,155.5 crore is payable by March 2023 (excluding the amount classified as current on account of not meeting certain covenant clauses).

“On a reported basis, EBITDA for the quarter was ₹4,650 crore. EBITDA excluding IndAS 116 impact improved to ₹2,120 core, compared to ₹1,620 crore in Q3, driven by improvement in revenue which is partially offset by higher subscriber acquisition costs due to higher gross additions during the quarter. This quarter had one-off of ₹150 crore primarily in network & IT costs,” the company said in a release.

Tariff hikes

As per the company, growth in revenue was a result of tariff hikes taken by the operator in December. It saw a 7.7 per cent q-o-q increase in average revenue per user (ARPU), ₹124 vs ₹115 in the prior quarter. Industry experts told BusinessLine, on conditions of anonymity, that growth in revenues in lieu of tariff hikes was still subdued, as healthy growth in revenue should have been of at least 7-10 per cent. 

Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said: “We are pleased to announce the third consecutive quarter of revenue growth driven by tariff interventions taken in November 2021. While the overall subscriber base has been impacted primarily on account of the tariff increase, the 4G subscriber base continued to grow on the back of superior data and voice experience offered by Vi GIGAnet. We are in the process of creating differentiated digital experiences for our customers and added several new digital offerings across various genres during the quarter. We successfully completed the first tranche of fundraising in the form of a preferential equity contribution of ₹4,500 crore from our promoters. We continue to actively engage with lenders and investors for further fundraising.”

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