In the first-ever financial results reported by Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), the merged entity has reported a loss of Rs 49.738 billion during the quarter ended September 2018.

The operator registered a 7.1 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) decline in total revenue from Rs 129.441 billion during the quarter ended June 2018 to Rs 120.238 billion during the quarter ended September 2018. The operator attributes this to customer migration to lower average revenue per user (ARPU) offerings coupled with the loss of 13 million customers during the period.

VIL’s earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 28.7 per cent from Rs 13.722 billion during the quarter ended June 2018 to Rs 9.778 billion during the quarter ended September 2018 mainly due to continued revenue pressure. Moreover, VIL’s reported a 4.7 per cent QoQ decline in ARPU from Rs 92 to Rs 88 during the same period.  The operator’s overall subscriber base stood at 422 million during the quarter ended September 2018.

Meanwhile, the operator has expressed its intention to raise up to Rs. 250 billion of new equity capital. To this end, VIL’s board of directors has established a committee of board members to evaluate the potential capital raise as it remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for the market and the future for the business, and recognises that further equity funding is required in order to ensure that the company has sufficient balance sheet flexibility to successfully execute its strategy.