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Informist, Monday, May 18, 2026

 

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--Vodafone Idea:5G svcs now live in over 80 cities across 17 telecom circles 
--CONTEXT: Comments by Vodafone Idea's mgmt in post-earnings analyst concall 
--Vodafone Idea: Aim to further differentiate customer, enterprise offerings 
--Vodafone Idea: Differentiated offerings aiding ARPU rise, aim to keep it up 
--Vodafone Idea: Don't see change in board structure due to warrant issue 
--Vodafone Idea: Customer additions, site rollout remain key priorities 
--Vodafone Idea:Working to lower customer acquisition cost, focus on quality 
--Vodafone Idea: Evaluating fixed wireless but mobility svcs focus for now 
--Vodafone Idea: Worst is behind us, enter FY27 with clear strategy 
--Vodafone Idea: Financially confident on fulfilling plans set out for 3 yrs 

 

By Shakshi Jain and Arya S. Biju

 

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI – Vodafone Idea Ltd. is working to reduce its customer acquisition cost while looking to rope in quality customers, the management said in a post-earnings conference call with analysts Monday. "We are now focusing very clearly on making sure that our quality of customer is as per the industry standards... We will rather put per subscriber cost of acquisition to be lower than this year (FY26)," a top company executive said. "But yeah, if there is a volume variance which happens as compared to this year, those costs will go up."

 

New fourth generation and fifth generation site rollouts and customer addition are critical items among seven key parametres the company has benchmarked its INR 450-billion turnaround on, as per the management. Among the levers to expand the customer base, the management listed a reduction in subscriber churn rate and higher population coverage.

 

The company is targeting a 0.5-0.6% reduction in subscriber churn and sees the scope to cover another 125 million subscribers through the rollout of more than 65,000 4G sites in the next year and a half. "So, that's the second lever for me to have to grow, which is a territory where I'm not present today. Third, I spoke about the MNP (mobile number portability), which is obviously, I'm participating in that market but I'm not really fairly represented in that market," the management said.

 

Vodafone Idea now offers 5G services in over 80 cities across 17 telecommunication circles. For the March quarter, the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 519.70 billion, helped by a one-time income of INR 574.91 billion. The company's top line for the quarter grew just 0.1% sequentially and around 3% on year to INR 113.32 billion.

 

The company lost 100,000 subscribers during the March quarter, taking its total customer base to 192.80 million. This was much lower than the 3.80 million subscribers it lost in the December quarter. Its blended churn rate for the quarter decreased sequentially to 3.9% from 4.4% in the trailing quarter.

 

Vodafone Idea's customer average revenue per user for Jan-Mar, excluding machine-to-machine services, rose over 2% sequentially and around 9% on year to INR 190. The company's blended average revenue per user for the quarter rose over 1% sequentially and more than 6% on year to INR 174.

 

The management credited Vodafone Idea's differentiated offerings for the improvement in average revenue per user, adding that the endeavour to further differentiate its offerings and thereby increase the average revenue per user will continue. The company is also evaluating fixed wireless access technology but the focus continues to be on mobility services for now, as per the management.

 

"The worst is behind us. The seven key parameters that we track are already moving in the right direction... we enter FY27 with a clear strategy, improving operational momentum, and growing confidence in the trajectory ahead," the management later said. 

 

Answering a query on any probable change in the promoter shareholding pattern or board structure following the recently-approved warrant issue, the management said, "...The changes on the warrants, on the preferential allotment, as well as the CLAM (Contingent Liability Adjustment Mechanism) will stand differently, but that is only after the equity is completely converted... I don't think there is any change that we are looking at in the board structure."

 

The company board last week approved the issuance of up to 4.30 billion warrants, convertible into one equity share each, to Suryaja Investments Pte. Ltd., Singapore, at INR 11 per unit, aggregating to INR 47.30 billion, on a preferential basis.

 

On the financial front, the company is confident of fulfilling its plans set out for the next three years. Earlier this year, Vodafone Idea announced an ambitious three-year turnaround plan with a capital expenditure of INR 450 billion. As part of this plan, the company is looking to raise INR 350 billion, split into an INR 250-billion funded facility and an INR 100-billion non-funded facility. 

 

The management did not disclose a timeline for the fundraise but said Vodafone Idea is "deeply engaged" with a consortium led by State Bank of India Ltd. and is confident of closing the exercise fast.

 

Monday, shares of Vodafone Idea ended at INR 12.86 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.7% from Friday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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