Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has announced the financial results for first quarter (Q1) FY22.
The company’s loss widened to Rs 73.19 billion during the quarter from Rs 70.22 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4) FY21.
Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter was Rs 91.5 billion, a decline of 4.7 per cent QoQ, on account of slowdown in economic activities due to lockdown or restrictions in most of the districts during the severe second wave of COVID–19. On a reported basis, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter was Rs 37.1 billion, with EBITDA margins at 40.5 per cent vs 45.9 per cent in Q4FY21. Further, capex spend for Q1FY22 was Rs 9.4 billion vs Rs 15.4 billion in Q4FY21. The total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) as of June 30, 2021 stands at Rs 1,915.9 billion, comprising of deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,060.1 billion and AGR liability of Rs 621.8 billion that are due to the government and debt from banks and financial institutions of Rs 234.0 billion.
The subscriber base declined by 12.3 million impacting the gross additions during the quarter. The subscriber base stands at 255.4 million in Q1FY22 vs 267.8 million in Q4FY21. However, the 4G subscriber base remained resilient at 112.9 million vs 113.9 million in Q4FY21. Subscriber churn was 3.5 per cent in Q1FY22 vs 3.0 per cent in Q4FY21. ARPU declined to Rs 104 vs Rs 107 in Q4FY21. The data volumes witnessed strong growth of 13.2 per cent QoQ, driven by higher data demand during the lockdown. Data usage per broadband subscriber surged to 14.6 GB/month vs 12.8 GB/month in Q4FY21.
Commenting on the results, Ravinder Takkar, managing director and chief executive officer, Vodafone Idea Limited, said, “The severe second wave of COVID-19 caused significant disruptions and slowdown in economic activities. During these challenging times, VIL continued to serve its customers and community at large by providing seamless connectivity as well as maintaining superior quality of services. Vi GIGAnet’s superior network experience on both data and voice, is testified through top rankings in independent external reports. We continue to focus on executing our strategy to keep our customers ahead, and our cost optimization plan remains on track to deliver the targeted savings. We are in active discussion with potential investors for fund raising, to achieve our strategic intent.”
