Vodafone rides govt relief, posts Rs 52k crore surprise profit

NEW DELHI: India’s third largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea (VI) is finally profitable. On Saturday, it reported a net profit of Rs 51,986 crore in March quarter — probably a record for any company — against a loss of Rs 7,168 crore in the corresponding period of 2025.

This was thanks to a one-time accounting gain from govt’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) relief, prompting promoter Aditya Birla Group to commit to a capital infusion of Rs 4,730 crore through one of its companies Suryaja Investments Pte Ltd, Singapore.

The company’s board has approved the issuance of up to 430 crore warrants, each convertible into an equity share, representing a 3.82% stake, to Suryaja Investments at an issue price of ?11 per warrant, according to an exchange filing.

The first profit in six years — and that too a bumper one — meant that the beleaguered VI saw a profit of Rs ?34,552 crore during the last financial year, versus a loss of Rs 27,384 crore in 2024-25. The annual consolidated revenue from operations grew 3% to Rs 44,783 crore from Rs 43,572 crore a year ago.

“Consequently, in accordance with Ind AS 109, the financial liability of Rs 80,502 crore as at Dec 31, 2025, was derecognised and the revised financial liability of Rs 24,880 crore was recognised, which is the present value of future payments as stated above. The resulting difference of Rs 55,622 crore (including impact of reassessed amount) along with net impact of other related provisions has been credited to the statement of profit and loss,” the company said in a regulatory filing.

The results indicate that the company is back in business after losing subscribers to rivals Jio and Bharti Airtel. In recent months, it has ramped up operations, once again focusing on adding new customers and improving the quality of its offerings.

Last Dec Govt had frozen Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues at Rs 87,695 crore. Subsequently this April govt cut VI’s AGR dues by Rs 23,600 crore to Rs 64,046 crore after recalculation, deferring the bulk of its payments by 10 years, to be paid from 2035-36 to 2040-41.

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