Vodafone Idea shares plunge nearly 8 pc on Q1 loss

Shares of Vodafone Idea on Friday tumbled nearly 8 per cent after the company reported widening of net loss to Rs 25,460 crore in the June quarter. The stock plunged 7.39 per cent to Rs 7.64 on the BSE in early trade. On the NSE, it cracked 7.87 per cent to Rs 7.60. Vodafone Idea, after market hours on Thursday, reported widening of net loss to Rs 25,460 crore in the June quarter after it made additional provisioning to pay past statutory dues, and said its ability to continue as going concern hinges on the Supreme Court allowing more time to pay dues.

The nation's third-largest telecom operator had a net loss of Rs 4,874 crore in April-June 2019 and Rs 11,643.5 crore in the preceding March quarter. It had reported a net loss of Rs 73,878 crore in full 2019-20 fiscal. VIL's revenue from operations came in at Rs 10,659.3 crore for the first quarter of FY 2021, sliding 5.4 per cent from the year-ago period.

The fiscal's first quarter numbers were impacted by nationwide lockdown. VIL said that the availability of recharges due to store closure and ability of customers to recharge on account of economic slowdown were "impacted" during the "challenging quarter". The gross additions were "severely impacted" by closure of retail stores during the nationwide lockdown resulting in subscriber base falling to 279.8 million in June quarter from 291.1 million in March quarter.

VIL's Q1 average revenue per user (ARPU) - a key metrics for telcos - took a hit and fell to Rs 114 from Rs 121 in the previous sequential quarter, the declines presenting a stark contrast to Reliance Jio and Airtel, both of which recorded ARPU gains during the quarter.