Vodafone Idea posts quarterly loss, says to raise Rs25,000 crore

Bengaluru: India’s telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd reported a second-quarter loss on Wednesday and said it is looking to raise about Rs25,000 crore ($3.5 billion).

The company said its board is evaluating ways to raise the capital in which promoters Vodafone Group will chip in Rs11,000 crore and Aditya Birla Group Rs7,250 crore.

This is the first quarterly result since Vodafone Plc merged its Indian operations with Idea Cellular in August, creating the country’s largest telecom operator by subscribers and revenue.

The company’s after-tax loss was Rs4,974 crore in the second quarter ended 30 September, which included a one-time charge of Rs566 crore, mainly due to integration and merger related costs.

Revenue from operations was Rs7,664 crore.

The results included numbers for Idea Cellular up to 30 August and Vodafone Idea from 31 August to 30 September, and were not comparable to earlier periods, the company said in a statement.

India’s telecom industry has been battered by a price war, sparked by the entry of billionaire Mukesh Amabani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Rival Bharti Airtel Ltd’s second-quarter profit plunged over 65%.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed)