It was the lowest quarterly revenue in more than two years. At the same time, EBITDA fell by 15.9% to INR37.1 billion, with a net loss of INR73.2 billion for the operator.
This comes amid concerns over Vodafone Idea’s future, including reported recent discussions with Indian banks over a potential debt-to-equity rescue and talks over transferral of a 27% shareholding to the government by Aditya Birla Group to stave off collapse. Ravinder Takkar (pictured), MD and CEO of Vodafone Idea, said the company is in “active discussions with potential investors for fundraising to achieve our strategic intent”.
He added that the company’s revenues during the quarter were affected by a “severe second wave of COVID”, which led to significant disruptions and a slowdown in economic activity.
The loss in the quarter to the end of June was, however, lower than the INR254.6 billion recorded in the same quarter last year, with the company – which operates under the Vi brand – focusing on a cost-optimisation strategy aimed at boosting organisational efficiency and achieving INR40 billion in annualised opex savings over the next 18 months.
“We continue to focus on executing our strategy to keep our customers ahead, and our cost-optimisation plan remains on track to deliver the targeted savings,” said Takkar.
