Aditya Birla Group to invest ₹4,700cr in Vodafone Idea
What's the story
Aditya Birla Group has announced a major investment of ₹4,730 crore in Vodafone Idea (Vi) through a preferential allotment. The move is likely to improve the financial health of the telecom operator and help it compete with its rivals, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The decision comes after Kumar Mangalam Birla's return as chairman of Vi's board earlier this month.
Investment details
Vi's board approves preferential allotment of convertible warrants
The board of Vi has approved a preferential allotment of convertible warrants to Suryaja Investments, a Singapore-based company owned by the Aditya Birla Group. Once fully converted, Suryaja Investments will own up to 3.82% stake in Vi, as per a regulatory filing. This marks another capital infusion from the company's promoters and is seen as a strategic move to strengthen their position in the telecom market.
Financial turnaround
Vi returns to profit in March quarter
Vi, a joint venture between UK's Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group, reported a net profit of ₹51,976 crore for the March quarter. The profit was boosted by a one-time gain from statutory liabilities deferment. However, excluding this exceptional gain, Vi had posted a net loss of ₹5,515 crore in Q4FY26, lower than the previous quarter's loss of ₹6,368 crore.
Revenue increase
Revenue and ARPU remain stable for Vi
In the March quarter, Vi reported a revenue of ₹11,333 crore, unchanged sequentially but up by 2.9% year-on-year (YoY). For the full fiscal year, Vi posted a net profit of ₹34,548 crore, up from a net loss of ₹27,368 crore in FY25. The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) also improved to ₹190 in the quarter, from ₹186 in Q3 and ₹175 a year earlier, marking a 2.2% sequential and an 8.6% annual increase due to 4G/5G upgrades.
Subscriber shift
User base declines slightly for Vi
Despite the financial improvements, Vi's overall user base fell slightly to 192.8 million from 192.9 million in the December quarter and 198.2 million a year ago. However, there was a continued shift toward higher-value users with the number of 4G/5G subscribers increasing to 128.9 million from 128.5 million sequentially and 126.4 million a year ago. The company spent ₹18,000 crore on capex last fiscal to improve network quality and expand its coverage for better competitiveness against Airtel and Jio.