Loss widens for Vodafone, even though ARPU increases | Vodafone Idea Q3FY22 Conference Call Highlights

Revenue for the quarter was Rs. 9720 Cr, a QoQ improvement of 3.3%, aided by several tariff interventions including the recent tariff hikes taken by all operators in November 2021. On a reported basis, EBITDA for the quarter was Rs. 3,820 Cr.
EBITDA excluding Ind AS 116 impact improved to Rs. 1,620 Cr, compared to Rs. 1410 Cr in Q2FY22 (post adjustment for one-off of Rs. 1500 Cr in Q2), aided by improvement in revenue and higher savings on account of cost optimization exercise, which is partially offset by higher marketing expenses.
Consolidated losses for the quarter ending December 2021 expanded to Rs 7,230.9 crore from Rs 4,532.1 crore compared with the corresponding quarter last year
Capex spend for Q3FY22 was Rs. 1050 Cr vs Rs. 1300 Cr in Q2FY22.
The total gross debt (excluding lease liabilities and including interest accrued but not due) as of December 31, 2021 stands at Rs. 1,98,980 Cr, comprising of deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs. 1,11,300 Cr, AGR liability of Rs. 64,620 Cr that are due to the Government and debt from banks and financial institutions of Rs. 23,060 Cr. Cash & cash equivalents were Rs. 1,500 Cr and net debt stood at Rs. 1,97,480 Cr.
During the quarter, company added ~4,000 4G FDD sites primarily through refarming of 2G/3G spectrum to expand the 4G coverage and capacity as well as continued to upgrade the core and transmission network. Overall broadband site count stood at 450,330, marginally lower compared to 450,481 in Q2FY22 as they continued to shut-down the 3G sites in a phased manner.
Increased the tariffs on entry level prepaid plans from Rs. 49 to Rs. 79 as well as increased tariffs on certain post-paid plans across retail and enterprise segments during Q2FY22. In November 2021, the company increased the prepaid tariffs across all price points including unlimited plans as well as combo vouchers, moving the entry level prepaid plan to Rs. 99. Resultantly, Average revenue per user (ARPU) improved to Rs. 115, up 5.2% QoQ vs Rs. 109 in Q2FY22.
The subscriber base declined to 24.72 Cr vs 25.3 Cr in Q2FY22, because of these tariff interventions. However, the 4G subscriber continued to grow and with 8 lakh customers added in Q3, 4G base now stands at 11.7 Cr. Subscriber churn increased to 3.4% in Q3FY22 vs 2.9% in Q2FY22. Data usage per 4G subscriber is now at ~14 GB/month vs ~12 GB/month a year ago.