The teleco had recorded a loss of Rs 7,132.3 crore in Q2 FY22.

Revenue for the quarter was Rs. 9,720 crore, a QoQimprovement of 3.3%, aided by several tariff interventions including the recent tariff hikes taken by all operators in November 2021.

On a reported basis, EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 3,820 crore. EBITDA excluding Ind AS 116 impact improved to Rs 1620 crore, compared to Rs 1410 crore in Q2 FY22 (post adjustment for one-off of Rs. 150 crore in Q2), aided by improvement in revenue and higher savings on account of cost optimization exercise, which is partially offset by higher marketing expenses.

Capex spend for Q3 FY22 was Rs 1,050 crore as against Rs 1,300 crore in Q2 FY22.

The total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) as of 31 December 2021 stands at Rs 1,98,980 crore, comprising of deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,11,300 crore, AGR liability of Rs 64,620 crore that are due to the Government and debt from banks and financial institutions of Rs 23,060 crore.

Cash & cash equivalents were Rs 1500 crore and net debt stood at Rs 1,97,480 crore.

The subscriber base declined to 247.2 million in Q3 FY22 from 253 million in Q2FY22, because of these tariff interventions.The 4G subscriber base continued to grow and with 0.8 million customers added in Q3, 4G base now stands at 117 million. Subscriber churn increased to 3.4% in Q3 FY22 as against 2.9% in Q2 FY22. Data usage per 4G subscriber is now at approximately 14 GB per month vs approximately 12 GB per month a year ago.

During the last two quarters, the company had done several tariff interventions to improve ARPU. It had increased the tariffs on entry level prepaid plans from Rs 49 to Rs 79 as well as increased tariffs on certain postpaid plans across retail and enterprise segments during Q2 FY22. In November 2021, it increased the prepaid tariffs across all price points including unlimited plans as well as combo vouchers, moving the entry level prepaid plan to Rs 99. Resultantly, ARPU improved to Rs 115, up 5.2% QoQ as compared with Rs 109 in Q2 FY22.

Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO, Vodafone Idea, said “We are pleased to announce second consecutive quarter of revenue growth driven by several tariff interventions taken in last few months. While the overall subscriber base has declined as a result of the tariff interventions, the 4G subscriber base remained resilient on the back of superior data and voice experience offered by Vi GIGAnet.

We remain focused on executing our strategy to improve our competitive position and win in the marketplace. Separately, we have opted for upfront conversion of interest arising from deferment of spectrum and AGR dues into equity.”

Vodafone Idea is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is amongst India's leading telecom service provider. The company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms.

The scrip slumped 5.46% to currently trade at Rs 11.25 on the BSE.