Vodafone-Essar, the Indian unit of Vodafone Group Plc, saw a 13.8 percent rise in revenues in the December quarter, to 767 million pounds ($1.23 billion), despite the tariff war and the highly competitive environment in the country.
The GSM major had posted revenues of £674 million for the October-December quarter of the previous financial year.
India’s service revenue increased by 13.8 per cent, half of which was delivered by the network sharing joint venture Indus Towers with the remaining growth driven by a 51.0 per cent increase in average mobile customers and a 35.1 per cent increase in voice usage offset in part by declining average voice rates, Vodafone Group said in its third results posted on its website.
On a comparative basis, Aditya Birla Group telecom service provider Idea Cellular Ltd’s net profit fell 23.11 per cent to Rs 218.38 crore, Bharti Airtel recorded a 3.75 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 2,237 crore and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd net loss rose to Rs 100.76 crore from Rs 45.07 crore recorded during the same period of previous financial year.
Click here for Q3 results of Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel, TTML
India contributed around 75 per cent of region’s (Asia Pacific and Middle East) organic service revenue growth, Vodafone said.
However, the growth rate was lower than the previous quarter primarily due to pressure on voice pricing in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market. The impact of the 51 per cent rise in average mobile customers was largely offset by lower effective prices. Indus Towers continued to show improved performance with tenancy rates up to an average of 1.7 operators per site, it added.
The company’s revenues from the voice segment rose to £630 million from £588 million posted during the same period a year ago. Vodafone-Essar’s churn (movement of subscribers to other networks) for the quarter stood at 38.1 per cent, it said.
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone group by revenue, has a 67 percent economic interest in the Indian firm Vodafone-Essar. The remaining 33 per cent is held by India’s Essar Group. The unlisted Indian entity’s financials are clubbed with that of the global firm, as it does not provide separate financials.
| Excerpts from Vodafone Group’s analysts call:-
* 14 per cent total consolidated revenue growth year YoY – 7% mobile YoY growth * Half of customer base migrated to new tariffs * ARPU was down 6 per cent QoQ to Rs 209; post-paid ARPU fell 1.4 per cent to Rs 785; pre-paid ARPU fell 6.1 per cent to Rs 170 * MOU down marginally to Rs 318 per subscriber per month * Focused on capex reductions due to more network sharing (overall reduction * Total 93,000 base station sites |
Read Also:-
Vodafone-Essar replies to Indian IT department notice
Vodafone launches new per second world calling cards
Vodafone-Essar, BSNL cut roaming charges
Zoozoos make a comeback on television
Vodafone launches ‘Complete the Zoozoo story’ Competition
Vodafone seeks extension to reply to show-cause notice
Competition in India to be intense: Vodafone Group
IT department issues second showcause notice to Vodafone
Comments