Vodafone Idea's Q3 loss narrows to Rs 6,609.3 crore as ARPU rises

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Tuesday reported narrowing of losses at Rs 6,609.3 crore for the December quarter.

The revenue from operations stood at Rs 11,117.3 crore during the quarter, over 4 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year.

On a consolidated basis, the loss for the quarter was at Rs 6,609.3 crore as against Rs 6,985.9 crore in the year-ago period.

Customer ARPU (average revenue per user) -- a key metrics for all telcos -- for the third quarter of the current fiscal year stood at Rs 173, up from Rs 166 in the July-September period.

On a sequential basis, this translated into a growth of 4.7 per cent.

Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said the company is driving investments and the velocity of capex deployment is set to accelerate in the coming quarters.

Concurrently, the phased rollout of 5G services is underway, targeting key geographies, he noted.

"We are pleased to report highest quarterly cash EBITDA since merger of Rs 24.5 billion (Rs 2,450 crore), registering a YoY growth of about 15 per cent. With our intensifying investments, we anticipate further improvement in both operational and financial performance," he said.

With the recent equity infusion of Rs 19.1 billion (Rs 1,910 crore) from one of the promoters, the telco now secured approximately Rs 260 billion (Rs 26,000 crore) in fresh equity capital over the past 10 months, he said.

"In parallel, we continue to engage with lenders for debt financing, aligning with our planned network expansion investment of Rs 500-550 billion over a three-year period. The government's decision on the bank guarantee waiver underscores its ongoing support for the telecom sector -- a critical pillar of Digital India's future," Moondra said.