Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (Vi), in a regulatory filing, has noted that it has pending claims worth Rs 27,328 crore against the company, which includes erstwhile Vodafone entities, that are under litigation in various courts.
These pending litigations, as mentioned in the filing, include a Rs 3,857 crore demand raised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on erstwhile Vodafone entities for the transfer and merger of licences in India.
The second-highest claim, also raised by the DoT, is Rs 3,599 crore and is related to a one-time spectrum charge (OTSC).
“Erstwhile Vodafone entities applied for approval for transfer and merger of licenses, and DoT demanded certain amounts for (such) transfer; the total amount involved in the said matter(s) is Rs 3,857 crore… against these demands for merger, (erstwhile) Vodafone Mobile Services (now Vodafone Idea) filed petitions in TDSAT, praying for setting aside and quashing the impugned conditions,” Vi said in a recent regulatory filing to the BSE.
Shares of Vodafone Idea (Vi) slumped by over 3 per cent on Wednesday after the telecom operator reported a loss of Rs 7,840 crore for the June 2023 quarter. The loss was Rs 7,297 crore in the year-ago quarter and Rs 6,419 crore in the preceding March quarter.
However, the revenue increased to Rs 10,655 crore in Q1 FY23 up from Rs 10,410 crore the year before.
At 1.50 pm, the stock was trading 3 per cent lower at Rs 7.78 on BSE. In the last one year, the stock has dipped over 11 per cent. The decline in the past five years was 75 per cent.
Vodafone India was created on August 31, 2018, by merging Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. In the joint entity, UK-based Vodafone Group owns 45.2 per cent stake, while Aditya Birla Group has 26 per cent stake.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1 Fy23 came in at Rs 139 as against Rs 135 in the previous quarter, showing a sequential growth of 2.9 per cent.
The company reported an EBITDA of Rs 4,157 crore in the reporting quarter, while margins stood at 39 per cent. EBIT loss for the quarter stood at Rs 1,459 crore.
“The eighth consecutive quarter of growth in average daily revenue, ARPU and 4G subscribers, clearly reflect our ability to effectively operate and compete in the market,” said Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea.
“We remain engaged with our lenders for further debt fundraising as well as with other parties for equity or equity-linked fundraising, to make required investments for network expansion, including 5G rollout,” Moondra added.
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