Multiple SIM use helped Vodafone Idea cut user losses in Q3: Analysts

Kolkata: The sharp fall in ’s customer losses in the December quarter has been driven partly by a revival in usage of multiple SIMs or ‘mobile connections’ as most migrants returned to work in the cities after easing of lockdown curbs and reactivated their mobile phones, analysts said. They added that the telco was showing improvements in its financials, but needed to further stem subscriber losses by raising funds quickly and stepping up capex investments.

They added that the deceleration in Vi’s subscriber losses was also helped by Reliance Jio’s lowest-ever net user adds in the fiscal third quarter amid the slowdown in the market leader’s JioPhone customer gains.

Vi managed to limit customer losses in the December quarter to two million — from 8.1 million in the previous one — and also narrowed its net loss to ₹4,540.8 crore compared with ₹7,203.4 crore in the second quarter of FY21, helped by a cost-optimisation plan and 3.6-million 4G user adds. Its lower quarterly loss was also helped by a ₹2,118.9-crore one-time gain on account of the sale of its 11.15% stake in Indus to the recently-merged Bharti Infratel-Indus Towers entity.

“Vi managed to rein in customer losses, primarily as multiple-SIM usage seems to be happening once more with migrants returning to cities and using their feature phones regularly,” Nitin Soni, senior director at global ratings agency, Fitch, said.