The board of beleaguered telco Vodafone Idea (Vi) has approved another round of fund raise amounting to Rs 20,000 crore, while the operator’s net loss widened sequentially in the March quarter.
In an exchange filing late on Friday night, Vi informed the exchanges that subject to shareholder approval and/or other requisite regulatory/statutory approvals, the firm can look to raise an additional Rs 20,000 crore in one or more tranches.
The fundraise can be done through further public offer or private placement (including qualified institutions placement) or through any other permissible mode including securities convertible into equity shares, global depository receipts, American depository receipts or bonds including foreign currency convertible bonds, the telco said.
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“The Board has authorised the capital raising committee to evaluate and decide the potential route of fund raising, including all related matters,” Vi added in the exchange filing.
Fundraising has become increasingly crucial for the struggling telco as its recent appeals to the government, and to the Supreme Court for relief on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues and spectrum liabilities were turned down. The telco’s Rs 55,000 crore capex plan for network upgradation and effective 5G launch hangs in the balance, as it grapples with liquidity constraints.
“The group’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on support from the DoT on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter, successfully arranging funding and generation of cash flow from its operations that it needs to settle its liabilities as they fall due,” the firm’s auditor SR Batliboy and associates observed in the quarterly earnings filing to the exchanges.
Vi net loss widened sequentially in the March quarter by Rs 566.8 crore, as revenue declined by more than Rs 100 crore, and the telco continued to bleed customers.
Loss for the fiscal fourth quarter came in at Rs 7,166.1 crore as compared to Rs 6,609.3 crore in the prior three months of the fiscal. Quarterly loss exceeded Bloomberg estimates of Rs 7,147.01 crore.
Revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 11,013.5 crore, registering a 0.93% sequential decline (Q3: Rs 11,117.3 crore), and missing Bloomberg estimates of Rs 11,107.9 crore.
Customer base of the cash-strapped telco further shrunk to 198.2 million in the quarter ended March 31,
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