Debt-ridden telecom company Vodafone-Idea (VI) may face a delay in its Rs 25,000 crore debt funding plan. However, according to analysts, the company may get relief from the government and under this a large part of its statutory dues can be converted into equity. Analysts say that this may slow down the financial recovery of the telecom operator. The company’s management last week acknowledged the possible delay in obtaining debt funding. In fact, the Supreme Court rejected the company’s AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) curative petition. Earlier, the company had hoped that it would get a bank loan by the end of November. Vodafone-Idea says that lenders have adopted a wait and watch strategy regarding its debt funding plan. Talks with lenders were progressing rapidly till the company’s curative AGR petition was rejected, but after the petition was rejected, the lenders put their decision on hold. Behind Jio and Airtel in terms of network parameters Ashvinder Sethi, partner at Analysis Mason, said, “Capital expenditure target of 50,000-55,000 is very important for VI, as it is lagging behind Reliance Jio and Airtel in terms of many network parameters, such as number of sites, percentage of 4G sites, 5G launch.” He said, “Delay in debt funding will affect Vodafone’s ability to achieve financial recovery.” Vodafone management says that the telecom company and its promoters are talking to lenders for debt for capital expenditure under the network expansion plan for the next three years. The capital expenditure will mainly focus on 4G coverage, capacity expansion and 5G service. IIFL Securities said that raising debt is important for implementing Vodafone’s capital expenditure plan. Vodafone-Idea share fell 50% this year VI share closed at Rs 7.10 today (Tuesday, November 19) after falling 2.07%. The company’s share has fallen 16.47% in one month, 47.60% in 6 months and 50% in one year. The market-cap of the company is Rs 49.56 thousand crores. VI suffered a loss of ? 7,176 crores in the second quarter Vodafone-Idea has suffered a consolidated loss of Rs 7,176 crore in the second quarter of FY 2025. The company had suffered a loss of Rs 8,746 crore in the same quarter a year ago. VI’s loss has reduced by 18% on a year-on-year basis. Vodafone-Idea’s consolidated operational revenue in the July-September quarter increased by 2.01% on a year-on-year basis to Rs 10,932 crore. The company’s revenue in the same quarter a year ago was Rs 10,716 crore.
