Analysts have said the telco without immediate funds will die a “slow death”.
The third largest operator on Saturday reiterated its viability concerns unless it manages to raise funds, which in turn depends on the status of statutory dues that it owes the government, and also on other factors such as negotiations with lenders on better terms for repayment.
“The company’s financial performance has impacted its ability to generate the cash flow that it needs to settle/ refinance its liabilities and guarantees as they fall due, which along with its financial condition, is resulting in material uncertainty that casts significant doubt on the Company’s ability to make the payments mentioned therein and continue as a going concern.,” India’s only loss-making private operator said.
Total quarterly revenue for the cash-strapped operator fell to Rs 9152.3 crore in the April-June from Rs 9,607.6 crore when compared sequentially, the company said in a notice to the stock exchanges on Saturday.
Vi said that the total debt of the Group stands at Rs 191,588.8 crore of which the next instalment of the AGR liability – of around Rs9,000 crore – and debt amounting to Rs 16,853.4 crore is payable in next 12 months.
The results are the first after Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla quit as Vodafone Idea non-executive chairman and as a director on the boad. His resignation had come less than two months after he wrote to the government that he is willing to give up his stake in Vi to any government entity, which can ensure the telco’s survival.
Funds are now the telco’s lifeline and the operator on its attempts to raise Rs 25,000 crore said ” We continue to focus on executing our strategy to keep our customers ahead, and our cost optimization plan remains on track to deliver the targeted savings. We are in active discussion with potential investors for fund raising, to achieve our strategic intent,” said Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO.
