Vodafone Idea posted a net loss of ₹5,975 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, expanding its deficit from ₹3,747 crore in the preceding quarter as accounting gains reversed into immediate valuation hits.
The bottom-line bleeding worsened by 8% year-on-year. A sharp ₹462 crore exceptional loss—triggered by the mark-to-market remeasurement of earmarked settlement shares—stripped earnings power during the three-month period. That marked a stark contrast to the June quarter, which enjoyed an exceptional cushion of ₹1,611 crore.
Top-line numbers held ground. Revenue from operations climbed 1.7% quarter-on-quarter to ₹11,884 crore compared to ₹11,689 crore logged in the June quarter, reflecting a 6.2% expansion on an annualized basis.
Yet core cash generation stumbled. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dipped 1.1% sequentially to ₹4,981 crore from ₹5,034 crore in the preceding quarter. Operating margin contracted by 120 basis points to 41.9%. Meanwhile, average revenue per user (ARPU) slid to ₹180 from ₹195, flashing caution on direct unit realizations.
On the markets front, shares of Vodafone Idea closed Thursday's trading session at ₹12.97 on the BSE and NSE, up 0.70% or ₹0.09, as domestic traders positioned ahead of the board release.
The swing between quarters highlights the structural volatility inside the carrier's income statement.
Without the non-cash support that flattered the first quarter, the operator's heavy financing overheads resumed center stage. The company continues to shoulder massive deferred sovereign obligations, carrying ₹1,31,268 crore in deferred payment liabilities toward spectrum allocations alongside ₹26,264 crore in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) liabilities.
Against those state liabilities, pure bank borrowings remained tightly checked. Total bank debt stood at ₹943 crore as of September 30, offset by cash and bank balances of ₹5,470 crore.
| Metric | Q2FY27 | Q1FY27 | QoQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Loss | ₹5,975 crore | ₹3,747 crore | Widened 59.5% |
| Revenue from Operations | ₹11,884 crore | ₹11,689 crore | +1.7% |
| EBITDA | ₹4,981 crore | ₹5,034 crore | -1.1% |
| EBITDA Margin | 41.9% |
Operational metrics delivered an opposing narrative to the headline earnings hit.
Total subscribers rose to 194.4 million from 193.1 million in the June quarter. Premium additions accelerated sharply: postpaid users jumped to 33.9 million from 31.9 million sequentially—the company's strongest quarterly postpaid intake in nine quarters. Combined 4G and 5G connections reached 131.0 million, rising from 127.8 million recorded twelve months earlier. Total daily network traffic jumped 27.1% year-on-year to 93.6 petabytes per day.
Our focus continues to remain firmly on execution. Our Q2FY27 performance reflects steady progress against our priorities. We are encouraged by the continued improvement in our net subscriber additions, supported by our network expansion and enhanced customer experience. Building on these improvements, we strengthened our customer proposition through innovative, differentiated and industry-first propositions such as free international roaming and family prepaid plans." > >
Abhijit Kishore, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Idea
Market Context: Indian telecommunications networks face an intensifying struggle over data density and high-value contract customers. While ARPU contracted on quarterly mix shifts, stabilizing customer defections and pushing high-margin postpaid subscriptions remain essential prerequisites for the operator to protect operating leverage while funding network towers.
Capital deployment accelerated sharply through the monsoon quarter.
Quarterly capital expenditure surged 104.5% sequentially to ₹3,946 crore as network equipment deliveries landed across circles. That outlay pushed 5G footprint coverage to 400 cities and towns across 17 priority circles. Ground engineers deployed nearly 9,000 unique broadband towers during the three months—marking another nine-quarter high—which expanded the active broadband tower infrastructure to nearly 214,000 sites.
Overall 4G population coverage reached roughly 88% by late September, bringing modern cellular connectivity to an extra 45 million citizens since the corresponding quarter last year.
Balance-sheet construction supported the field deployments. Through the first half of the financial year, the company secured more than ₹10,500 crore in aggregate capital through warrants, fund-based lines, and non-fund-based credit lines. Over ₹4,000 crore of that total arrived via fresh commercial bank facilities closed during the September quarter itself.
Long-term supply obligations remain aggressive. Chief Executive Kishore confirmed that procurement teams have already locked in hardware contracts exceeding ₹13,200 crore, of which vendor partners have delivered and executed roughly ₹6,000 crore on the ground. The company confirmed it is continuing active discussions with lending syndicates and institutional investors to secure additional capital lines required to sustain tower rollout momentum heading into the second half of the fiscal year.
| 43.1% |
| -120 bps |
| ARPU | ₹180 | ₹195 | -7.7% |
| Total Subscribers | 194.4 million | 193.1 million | +1.3 million |
| Postpaid Subscribers | 33.9 million | 31.9 million | +2.0 million |
| Capex Deployed | ₹3,946 crore | ₹1,929.6 crore | +104.5% |