Vodafone India AprSept revenue declines 15.8%
NEWDELHI: Vodafone India Ltd on Tuesday reported a decline on all key financial parameters in the April-September period, as competitive pressure took its toll on India’s second largest telco.
The Mumbai-based company’s service revenue declined 15.8% to ₹19,002 crore; Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, an indicator of operating profitability, fell 39.2% to ₹4,074 crore; and the E bit dam ar gin narrowed 8.2 percentage points to 21.4%. Vodafone cut capital expenditure by 13% to ₹2,915 crore.
In a statement, the company blamed “continued price competition from new operator and incumbents, seasonality and G ST (goods and services tax)” for its revenue taking a hit.
A fierce price war triggered by the entry of Jio in September last year and heavy spectrum acquisition costs have hit Indian tel cos. J io started charging customers in April after offering its services free for almost six months. Vodafone raised its customer base by 3.3% to 207 million and registered an increase of 600 basis points in its revenue market share to 23.1% in the quarter ended June 30. However, it said the company’s service revenue Arpu (average revenue per user) took a beating due to stiff price competition and it now stand sat ₹146 per user. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
“We see signs of positive developments with consolidation of smaller operators,” Sunil Sood, MD and CEO, said in a statement.