New Delhi: Vodafone Idea reported Thursday the biggest quarterly loss in India’s corporate history after making provisions for outstanding government dues.
Vodafone Idea, made up of the local unit of Vodafone Group Plc and billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Idea Cellular, reported a consolidated net loss of 509 billion rupees ($7.13 billion) in the second quarter of the 2019-2020 fiscal.
The company took a charge of 256.78 billion rupees for the quarter after the Supreme Court last month upheld a demand by the telecoms department that wireless carriers pay 920 billion rupees in overdue levies and interest.
Vodafone Idea and rival Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS), two of India’s three main mobile carriers, will have to pay a bulk of this demand.
Bharti Airtel reported Thursday a consolidated net loss of 230.45 billion rupees ($3.23 billion) in three months to September.
Airtel said it made a provision of 284.50 billion rupees, more than 92% of the overall charge for exceptional items, after the Supreme Court ruling.
Telecom providers in India pay the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) nearly 3-5 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in usage charges for spectrum or airwaves and eight per cent of AGR as licence fees.
The DoT and the mobile carriers have been at odds over the definition of AGR. The companies argue that AGR should comprise just revenue accrued from core services, while the DoT says AGR should include all revenue.
Vodafone Idea said it was in active discussions with the government seeking financial relief and also in the process of filing a review petition with the Supreme Court.
“It is to be noted that our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on obtaining the reliefs from the government… and positive outcome of the proposed legal remedy,” the company said in a statement.
The company’s gross debt at end-September stood at 1.17 trillion rupees. Analysts have previously warned that Vodafone Idea will be the worst hit after the Supreme Court ruling given its already stretched balance sheet.
Vodafone Idea’s consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter rose 41.4% year-on-year to 108.44 billion rupees.
Agencies