Vodafone Idea Q2 results: Vodafone Idea posts India’s biggest ever quarterly loss at Rs 50,921 crore on AGR hit

Telecom firm Vodafone Idea on Thursday reported a record loss of Rs 50,921 crore for the September quarter, as it made a provision for the Supreme Court’s ruling on payment of average gross revenue (AGR) dues, even as ongoing brutal pricing war continued to hurt. The company had posted a loss of Rs 4,947 crore in the year ago period.

Earlier in the day, telecom major Bharti Airtel posted a loss of Rs 23,044 crore for the quarter ended September 30, due to Rs 28,450 crore provisions towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

The company’s quarterly loss is worst ever in the history of India Inc. Before this, Tata Motors had posted a loss of Rs 26,961 crore for the December quarter of 2018.

The company also flagged worries over whether it will be able to sustain as a going concern, and said that it was dependent on relief from the government.

Vodafone Idea’s revenue from operations more than halved to Rs 10,844 crore from Rs 22,114 crore.

The company reported Ebitda of Rs 3,347.10 crore against Rs 461.40 crore in the year ago period. Ebitda margins also jumped to 30.9 per cent in the September quarter against 6 per cent last year.

“Consequent to the recent judgement by the Supreme Court, we have accounted for the estimated liability of Rs 27,610 crore related to licence fee and Rs 16,540 crore related to spectrum usage charges up to September 30, including the interest, penalty and interest thereon of Rs Rs 33,010 billion,” the company said in a release.

This estimate is based on demands received from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) till date, an estimation for the period for which demands have not been raised, together with interest and penalty adjusting for certain computation corrections.

Ravinder Takkar, MD and CEO of Vodafone India said they are in active discussions with the government seeking financial relief following the Supreme Court ruling.

“At the same time, we remain highly focused on rapid network integrating and 4G coverage and capacity expansion in our key markets,” Takkar said in a release.

Gross debt as of September 30, stood at Rs 1,17,300 crore, including deferred spectrum payment obligations due to the government of Rs 89,170 crore, but excluding lease liabilities. Cash and cash equivalents were Rs 15,390 crore and net debt Rs 1,01,910 crore against Rs 99,260 crore in Q1FY20.

“It is to be noted that our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on obtaining the reliefs from the government as discussed above and positive outcome of the proposed legal remedy,” the company said.