According to Akshaya Moondra, chief financial officer, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi), the telco will close its equity funding talks in the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, which will then be followed by bank lending. Speaking during the company’s recent earnings call, Moondra added that the talks with equity investors have progressed from the previous quarter.
Moondra also said that the one promoter that had committed to provide financial support of up to Rs 20 billion, was yet to infuse the money, though he clarified that the equity-linked funding it was in discussions for, was not contingent on promoter infusion or vice versa.
However, Vi reported an addition in post-paid users for the first time in several quarters, as most of its users were at the lower end. The telco is also in talks with banks for additional funding, which is contingent on it tying up the equity-led funding first.
Further, Moondra added that the company has not received any contributions from the promoter to date. The company received some bank funding in the previous quarter to tide over the short-term mismatch. The promoter has committed to supporting Vi when required, as the company expects the promoter’s contributions to come in conjunction with the securing of external funding. The promoter’s contributions are not contingent on the external fundraising, although the expectation is that the two can happen together.
Additionally, the telco has not yet received tax refunds from the tax department, as it is awaiting the exact amount. The amount is expected to be largely offset by the refunds and will not result in any immediate incremental cash outflows. Moondra also added that the addition of 1.8 million 4G subscribers in the July-September 2023 period was the highest in eight quarters. This, along with tariff interventions and the migration of users to higher-priced plans, contributed to a sequential increase of 2.1 per cent in average revenue per user, to Rs 142.
