Vodafone Idea, formed as a merger between Vodafone and Idea Cellular, published its financial reports on 12th November 2021. The results beat the market estimates as the consolidated net loss of the company shrunk to 1.2% year-on-year (YoY). The consolidated net loss amounted to Rs.7132 crores in Q2 FY22 compared to Rs.7218 crores in Q2 FY21 and Rs.7319 crores in Q1 FY22.
The gross revenue was recorded at Rs.9406 crores after a 2.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth from Rs.9152 crores reported in the first quarter of the current financial year. However, the company experiences a 12.8% YoY fall in the gross consolidated revenue against the Rs 10,791 crore revenue that Vodafone reported in Q2 FY21.
The EBITDA also fell 7% YoY from Rs.4152 crores in Q2 FY21 to Rs.3863 crores in Q2 FY22. In sequential terms, however, the company posted a 4.2% QoQ growth in the EBITDA which was recorded at Rs.3708 crores last quarter.
This element of surprise as a sequential growth in the operating performance is attributed to the growth that the company witnessed in its The Average Revenue Per User(ARPU) rose 4.8% QoQ to amount to Rs.109 in the quarter under review.
The EBITDA margin improved 26 basis points on a YoY basis and 6 basis points on a QoQ basis to stand at 41.1%.
The operating expenses fell 16.5% from Rs.6639 crores in the second quarter of the last financial year to Rs.5544 crores in the second quarter of the current financial year. Sequentially, however, the operating expenses increased from Rs.5445 crores in the last quarter.
After the markets closed, the shares of Vodafone Idea stood at Rs.10.25 after witnessing an intraday jump of 4.1%. The last dividend that the company had declared was on 28th April 2016 when a dividend of Rs.0.60 per share was announced.
Commenting on the results, the company stated that it had taken pricing initiatives during the second quarter to improve its ARPU. This was done in accordance with its line strategy. The entry-level prepaid price was increased from Rs.49 to Rs.79 in a phased manner. Moreover, the tariff rates in some postpaid plans were also increased.
The company also mentioned that it welcomed the Government’s reform package which targets various industry concerns and provides immediate relief for the financial stress in the telecom sector. The company mentioned that it has improved its 4G subscriber base driven by superior data and voice experience on Vi GIGAnet.