Vodafone Idea EBITDA crosses ₹5,000 crore in June quarter as turnaround gathers pace

Vodafone Idea’s quarterly EBITDA crossed the ₹5,000-crore mark for the first time, signalling a significant improvement in the telecom operator’s core business as it seeks to turn around years of financial stress. EBITDA had fallen as low as ₹461 crore in Q2 FY19, according to Bloomberg data.

The company reported a lower-than-expected net loss of ₹3,754 crore for the June quarter, compared with the Bloomberg consensus estimate of a ₹5,391-crore loss. Revenue rose 3.2% sequentially to ₹11,689 crore, ahead of the ₹11,499-crore estimate.

Quarterly EBITDA rose 9.1% from a year earlier, while revenue grew 6.0% YoY. Trailing 12-month EBITDA stood at ₹19,425 crore, strengthening the company’s operating profile as it begins a planned expansion of its 4G and 5G networks.

The improvement was also visible in key customer metrics. Vodafone Idea’s subscriber base increased to 193.1 million from 192.8 million in the March quarter, marking its first quarter of positive net additions since the merger. Customer ARPU rose to ₹195 from ₹190 in the previous quarter and ₹177 a year earlier.

The company deployed ₹1,930 crore in capital expenditure during the quarter and said it has placed orders worth ₹9,000 crore against its planned ₹45,000-crore capex programme for FY27-FY29. The investment is aimed at expanding its 4G and 5G footprint and improving network capacity.

“FY27 is the year of execution for us,” Chief Executive Officer Abhijit Kishore said. “Our robust Q1 FY27 performance is a strong validation of our defined strategy and disciplined execution.” He added that discussions with lenders give the company confidence of successfully closing its debt-funding plans.

Vodafone Idea also reported an exceptional gain of ₹1,611 crore in the quarter, mainly from the remeasurement of settlement assets and a writeback of certain provisions. That compares with an exceptional gain of ₹57,491 crore in the March quarter.

The company has raised ₹3,300 crore through non-convertible debentures and received part proceeds from its recent warrant issuance. As of June-end, its debt from banks stood at ₹211 crore, while cash and bank balances were ₹6,558 crore.

The improving operating performance comes as Vodafone Idea emerges from a prolonged period of financial uncertainty following relief on its adjusted gross revenue obligations, promoter capital infusion and a return to subscriber growth. Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla described FY27 as a “period of execution” in the company’s FY26 annual report.

However, the balance sheet remains a key overhang. Following the June-quarter loss, the group’s net worth stood at negative ₹38,327 crore.

Vodafone Idea shares have gained about 20% since the start of the year, outperforming the Nifty 50, which has declined about 6%, and the Nifty 500, down roughly 1%.