Vodafone Idea Q1 Results: Loss Lower Than Estimated

Vodafone Idea Ltd.'s net loss narrowed in the first quarter of the current financial year.

The telecom firm posted a loss of Rs 6,432.1 crore in the June quarter in comparison to a loss of Rs 7,665.9 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal, according to an exchange filing on Monday. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had a consensus estimate of Rs 7,639 crore.

Revenue decreased 1% year-on-year for the three months ended June to Rs 10,508.3 crore. Analysts had projected revenue of Rs 10,655 crore.

Operating income was down 3% year-on-year to Rs 4,204.7 crore. The Ebitda margin contracted to 40% from 40.9% in the same period the previous year. Analyst estimates for Ebitda and Ebitda margin tracked by Bloomberg were Rs 4,257 crore and 40%, respectively.

The total debt from banks and financial institutions reduced by Rs 4,550 crore. The cash and bank balance of the telecom giant stood at Rs 18,150 crore as of June 30. The company's obligation to the government stood at Rs 2.09 lakh crore at the end of the quarter. This included the deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1.39 lakh crore and the AGR liability of Rs 70,320 crore.

"Our current capex needs are being met out of equity funds," Chief Executive Officer Akshaya Moondra said. "We are engaged with our lenders for tying up debt funding towards the execution of our network expansion with a planned capex of Rs 500 to 550 billion over next 3 years."

Shares of Vodafone Idea closed 0.50% lower at Rs 16.02 per share on the NSE, compared to a 0.04% decline in the benchmark Nifty.