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 Ebitda margin 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 GST (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 telcos. Jio 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 stands at ₹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.