Vodafone Idea (Vi) reported a loss of ₹7,591 crore for the second quarter this fiscal. The company’s losses widened by six per cent year-on-year. Revenue from operations grew by 13 per cent to ₹10,610 croreagainst ₹9,401 crore reported in the June quarter this fiscal.
The company is yet to shed light on when it will be deploying its 5G network. “We continue to focus on expanding our high speed network capacity. We also continue to refarm our 2G and 3G spectrum to expand our 4G coverage,” the telco stated.
The company mentioned its demonstration of 5G live network and 5G use cases in its financial release.
Mounting debt
In the past six months, Vi has incurred a loss of ₹14,892 crore. The total debt for the company has risen to ₹2.2-lakh-crore. Certain lenders have also asked for increase in interest rates and additional margin/security against existing facilities and the company is in discussion with the lenders to discuss next steps and waivers.
Vi also mentioned that certain vendors have asked for immediate payment of dues, and the company is in discussion with them as well.
ARPU (average revenue per user) for the company improved to ₹131 — a 19 per cent growth on a year-on-year basis. While the base declined to 234.4 million from 240 million for Q2, Vodafone Idea’s 4G subscriber base continues to grow, adding 1.5 million during the quarter.
Rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have launched 5G services, therefore Vi is behind its competitors. Analysts, however, note that Vodafone Idea’s ARPU growth and 4G subscribers are the company’s saving grace.