Beleaguered Indian operator Vodafone Idea has logged its first annual revenue increase since it was created in 2018 through the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.
For FY 2023, Vi’s total revenue hit INR385.2 billion ($4.7 billion) – an increase of 9.5% year-on-year. CEO Akshaya Moondra stated that during Q4, the operator saw its 4G post-paid subscriber numbers increase alongside ARPU, with total revenue for the quarter up 2.9% to INR105.3 billion.
As part of its fundraising efforts during the quarter, Vi issued equity shares to India’s government, and Moondra noted that the operator will continue to expand and improve its network – including 5G deployment – via engagement with its lenders and other backers.
Vi’s net loss for the fourth quarter fell 2.2% year-on-year to INR64.2 billion, with the operator confirming that its depreciation and amortisation totalled INR57.1 billion – a drop of 3.5%. Additionally, while its overall subscriber numbers were down 18 million year-on-year to 225.9 million, post-paid users accounts for around 10% of this total – an increase of 8.2%.
The operator’s 4G subscriber numbers increased 4.5 million to 122.6 million, while its Capex dropped INR57.8 billion in FY2022 to INR33.6 billion for 2023.
