Vodafone Idea Ltd. widened its quarterly losses to ₹11,643.5 crore for the period ended March 31, 2020 (Q4FY20) as compared to ₹4,882 crore in the same quarter of the previous year (Q4FY19).

Gross revenue for the Q4FY20 marginally declined to ₹11,754 crore as compared to ₹11,775 crore in Q4FY19.

The telecom company, facing steep headwinds, continued to reduce its operating expenses.

For the quarter, the underlying operating expenses excluding license fees, spectrum usage charges, and roaming and access charges were ₹2,100 crore lower compared to Q1FY19. On an annualised basis, the reduction in operating expenses represent the full realisation of the target merger opex synergies of ₹8,400 crore, the company said in a statement.

As on March 31, 2020 the company’s gross debt was ₹1,15,000 crore, including deferred spectrum payment obligations due to the government to the tune of ₹87,650 crore.

Capex in Q4FY20 was lower at ₹1,820 crore as compared to ₹3,330 crore in Q3FY20. For the full year FY20, the company has reported a capex of ₹10,130 crore.

Due to network issues, the company lost a large number of subscribers. The subscriber base in Q4FY20 declined to 291 million from 304 million in Q3FY20.

Ravinder Takkor, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea Ltd said, “Our focus on rapid network integration as well as 4G coverage and capacity expansion has further improved customer experience. We thus continue to lead the league table on 4G data download speeds. We have achieved our full opex merger synergy target despite the nationwide lockdown.”

“On AGR matter, the next hearing is scheduled with the Supreme Court in the third week of July. Meanwhile, we continue to actively engage with the government seeking a comprehensive relief package for the industry, which faces critical challenges,” he added.

The company said the spread of COVID-19 will have no material impact on its overall performance.