Vodafone Idea shares rebound from their 52-week low after net loss narrows in Q1

Shares of debt-laden telecom service provider Vodafone Idea Ltd. gained as much as 3% on Monday, August 18, in response to their June quarter results that were reported after market hours on Thursday, August 14. The quarter saw a marginal narrowing of the net loss on a sequential basis, but most of the other parameters remained constant.

Vodafone Idea' net loss during the June quarter stood at ₹6,608 crore, which is narrower than the loss of ₹7,166 crore that it reported during the March quarter.

Revenue for the quarter remained unchanged at ₹11,022 crore, while Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter stood at ₹4,612 crore, nearly unchanged from the ₹4,659 crore in March.

EBITDA margin narrowed for the third straight quarter to 41.8% from 42.3% in March and 42.4% in December.

Subscriber base for Vodafone Idea has continued to narrow, currently at 197.7 million, while its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) has only increased by ₹2 over the last three quarters, currently at ₹165 from ₹163 in December.

At the end of the June quarter, Vodafone Idea's debt from banks stood at ₹19,300 crore.

Vodafone Idea has made repeated mentions of its inability to continue as a going concern if more help from the government will not be forthcoming. Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had told CNBC-TV18 last month that the government's stake in Vodafone Idea will not go beyond the current 49% and that there is no intention to turn the telecom company into a PSU.

Shares of Vodafone Idea are trading 3.6% higher on Monday at ₹6.4. The stock has declined 20% in the last one month and trades well below its FPO price of ₹11 per share.