NEW DELHI: Newly merged entity Vodafone Idea Ltd posted a whopping `4,923 crore consolidated loss for the second quarter of this financial year, with the company citing large migrations of customers to low-cost plans as a factor in declining revenue per user. The company is also mulling a significant fundraising round of up to `25,000 crore ($3.5 billion), with promoters Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group indicating a willingness to infuse an aggregate of `18,250 crore into the firm. The merged entity’s gross debt as of September 30, 2018, stood at `1,26,100 crore.
According to details filed with bourses, the numbers disclosed for the reported quarter include results for Idea Cellular up to August 30, 2018, and for Vodafone Idea from August 31 to September 30. The merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular was completed on August 31, 2018.
The ongoing tariff war in the telecom sector since the launch of Reliance Jio continued to take a toll on margins and profitability. With a wealth of cheap plans available in the market, the company recorded a continuing decline in its average revenue per user (ARPU) numbers. “... customer migration to lower ARPU offerings led to a 4.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in ARPU to `88 for the quarter,” the company said. The firm’s consolidated revenues for the quarter stood at `7,663 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at `4,614 crore, while EBITDA margins were 6 per cent.
On operations after the merger, chief executive Balesh Sharma said that multiple opportunities have been opened to draw synergies across the Board. “Going forward, we remain focused on accelerating integration momentum for higher synergy realisation, expanding coverage and capacity of our 4G network…,” he said.
Meanwhile, the company also stated that several parties have “indicated potential interest in acquiring” its fibre network, which boasts 1,56,000 km of intra and inter-city fibre routes. “The company has decided to actively explore a potential sale of these assets in order to provide further balance sheet flexibility,” a company statement said.