“What the government will do I can’t comment on behalf of the government post judgment. We are continuing to engagement with the government to find the solution with the AGR dues,” said Moondra.
“Our view is that the government can provide relief,” Moondra reiterated. “In some ways, if you look at the 2021 reforms package, the government took the initiative, and I see no reason why the government should be constrained in any way from offering the relief it decides to do so.
However, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reportedly refused to entertain any plan to provide relief on the AGR front to telecom companies. He also mentioned that Vodafone Idea will not receive any further equity conversion from the government beyond the current 49%, and it’s now the company’s responsibility to manage its profit and loss and balance sheet. In its quarterly result, Vi reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 7,166.1 crore for the quarter ending March. It is marginal improvement from Rs 7,674.6 crore recorded in the same period last year.
However, losses widened compared to the previous quarter’s Rs 6,609.3 crore. The company’s revenue grew 3.8% year-on-year to Rs 11,013.5 crore, driven by tariff hikes and customer upgrades. The average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to Rs 175. The company also announced plans to raise another Rs. 20,000 crore through a further public offering (FPO), private placement, or other permissible modes. On the fundraising, Moondra mentioned that discussions are ongoing with banks, but banks want clarity on the AGR issue. Vi stated its intention to launch 5G services across 17 telecom circles by August.
