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Informist, Friday, May 30, 2025

MUMBAI – Telecommunication stocks are seen consolidating next week as the market is also expected to move in a narrow range owing to a lack of new triggers. Movement in telecom stocks will be driven by specific news, analysts said. The market will also study the March quarter results of Vodafone Idea, due later Friday.

The beleaguered debt-ridden telecom major's net loss is expected to widen sequentially in the March quarter owing to continued decline in its subscriber base and no major increase in average revenue per user, making it the 27th successive loss-making quarter. "Vodafone Idea is expected to report a decline of 3 mln subscribers QoQ (quarter on quarter) to 197 mln, with growth in ARPU of 1% QoQ to Rs165/month, driven by the tail impact of July '24 tariff hike and ongoing migration of users from 2G-to-4G technology," Centrum Broking said in a pre-earnings report. "The management commentary on their ongoing capex activity would be keenly watched," the brokerage added.

Analysts are cautious on the stock amid rising debt and slowing earnings. Vodafone Idea is expected to move in a range of INR 6.50-INR 7.20 next week, a derivatives analyst at a domestic brokerage said. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel looks strong and is likely to move in a range of INR 1,825-INR 1,900 next week. Friday, shares of Bharti Airtel closed 0.4% lower at INR 1,856.20 on the National Stock Exchange. Those of Vodafone Idea closed at INR 6.92, down 3.1%.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released its subscriber data for April Thursday, where Bharti Airtel net added 170,658 users against 1.25 million users in March, and Reliance Jio net added 2.64 million subscribers, up from 2.17 million in March. On the other hand, Vodafone Idea net lost 647,620 users in April, higher than 541,377 users in March.

"TRAI's Apr '25 subscriber (subs) data shows healthy net subs addition for the overall industry at 1.9 mln," JM Financial said in a report. "However, the industry's active subs declined by 1.6 mln in Apr '25, driven by Bharti/BSNL/VIL (lost 4.1 mln/1.8 mln/1.1 mln), partly offset by Jio's strong 5.5 mln active subs gain."

Shares of public-sector telecom service providers surged this week after the government said it intends to raise INR 10.00 billion in the current financial year using land parcels owned by Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam in an effort to financially stabilise the two companies. The monetisation plan involves the sale or leasing of land assets identified by the finance ministry's Department of Public Enterprises, the report said.

TOP HEADLINES

* Tejas Networks MD, CEO Athreya resigns, COO Roy given interim charge
* Nearly half of rural women don't own a mobile phone - statistics min survey
* Earnings Outlook: Vodafone Idea's net loss may widen QoQ on subscriber loss
* ICRA revises rating outlook of Indus Towers to positive from stable
* Data Alert: Indian cos add 1.95 mln mobile users Apr, down from 2.93 mln Mar
* PRESS:Fin min not keen on Bharti Airtel's plea to convert AGR dues to equity
* 3M India Jan-Mar net profit falls nearly 59% YoY to INR 713.71 million
* ITI's net loss narrows QoQ in Jan-Mar to INR 48.4 million
* BSNL posts second straight quarter of PAT growth Jan-Mar, up 7% QoQ
* Bharti Airtel launches all-in-one packs for over-the-top platforms
* RailTel Corp gets INR 251.29-mln order from police department

Following are the resistance and support levels for the stocks for next week as per calculations by Informist based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Akash Mandal

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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