Mumbai: In its first earnings announcement as a joint entity, Vodafone Idea reported a consolidated loss of Rs 4,973 crore for the September quarter and announced a fund infusion of Rs 25,000 crore to help it take on cut-throat competition.
The entity, which became the largest telco with 422 million subscribers after the merger on 31 August, reported consolidated revenue of Rs 7,663 crore.
Of the Rs 25,000 crore of fresh capital infusion, Vodafone will pump in Rs 11,000 crore into the new company, and the Birla group that owned Idea will infuse Rs 7,250 crore, the company said, indicating that the promoters are ready for a long haul and willing to fight.
The numbers for the reported quarter include results for Idea Cellular up to 30 August, and for Vodafone Idea from 31 August to 30 September and hence these are not comparable, the companies said in a statement.
The “pro-forma” revenue derived without considering the alignment of accounting policies, stood at Rs 12,023 crore, the company said. At Rs 4,973 crore of losses, this is the worst show by any operator in the quarter.
The company, however, continued to face difficulties because of competition, which was visible both in a 4.7 per cent decline in average revenue per user (ARPU) to Rs 88 and also a 13 per cent migration to competition.