Vodafone Idea's Q4 loss narrows but no clarity on fundraise
Premium- For the year ended March 31, 2021, the company's loss narrowed to ₹44,233.1 crore from ₹73,878.1 crore in 2019-20
Vodafone Idea on Wednesday reported a narrowing of its consolidated loss to ₹7,022.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31 against a loss of ₹11,643.5 crore in the same period a year ago. The cash strapped telco which was jointly promoted by Aditya Birla group and Vodafone group PLC registered a decline in total income during this period by around 19% to ₹9,647.8 crore from ₹11,920.4 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2019-20. For the year ended March 31, 2021, the company's loss narrowed to ₹44,233.1 crore from ₹73,878.1 crore in 2019-20.
Its consolidated total annual income declined by about 8 % to ₹42,126.4 crore from ₹45,996.8 crore a year ago.The gross debt (excluding lease liabilities) as of March 31, 2021 stood at ₹1,80,310 crore which includes deferred spectrum payment obligations of ₹96,270 crore, AGR (adjusted gross revenue) liability of ₹60,960 crore and debt from banks and financial institutions of ₹23,080 crore.
In a filing to the exchanges the company said that its financial performance has impacted its ability to generate the cash flow that it needs to settle / refinance its liabilities and guarantees as they fall due, which along with its financial condition is resulting in material uncertainty that casts significant doubt on the Company’s ability to make the payments mentioned therein and continue as a going concern.
The company said that while it continues to remain engaged with potential investors, its status as a going concern is contingent on its ability to raise additional funds and successful negotiations with lenders on continued support, refinancing of debts, monetisation of certain assets, outcome of the modification application filed with the Supreme Court and clarity of next installment amount, acceptance of its deferment request by DoT and generation of cash flow from its operations that it needs to settle its liabilities .
“FY21 has been a transformational year for Vodafone Idea with several important milestones achieved. Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited, said “We enter FY22 with renewed focus on executing our strategy to keep our customers ahead, and our cost optimization plan remains on track to deliver the targeted savings. We are in active discussion with potential investors for fund raising, to achieve our strategic intent." he added.
In the fourth quarter, the company's total revenue from operations fell nearly 12% to ₹9,607.6 crore as against ₹10,894 crore quarter on quarter (QoQ). The company posted an exceptional loss of ₹974.3 crore during the fourth quarter. Its average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q4FY21 declined to ₹107 compared to ₹121 in Q3FY21, on account of removal of Interconnection Usage Charge (IUC) adjusting for which ARPU was broadly flat this quarter, it said. Vodafone Idea had over 267.8 million subscribers as of March 31, 2021. Ahead of its Q4 results, shares of Vodafone Idea on Wednesday closed 1.4% lower at ₹9.95 per share on the BSE.
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