Vodafone Idea, Airtel Shares Surge Despite Posting Loss Of Rs. 74,000 Crore In Q2

Despite the fact that both Airtel and the Vodafone have posted a loss in Q2 FY2020, the operators have traded 6.34 percent and 6.78 percent higher in early trade, respectively. For the unaware, Vodafone has reported a loss of Rs 50,921 crore in the quarter ended on September 30 against a loss of Rs. 4,973.8 crore in Q2FY19.

Besides, its revenue from services surged 42 percent YOY to Rs. 10,838.9 crore. While its EBITDA for the quarter decreased to Rs. 33.5 billion. On the other hand, Sunil Mittal-owned Airtel has posted a loss of Rs 23,045 crore during the same quarter. In fact, both operators reported a loss of Rs. 74,000 crore in Q2FY20.

In addition, Airtel's s average revenue per user (ARPU) came in at Rs 128 as against Rs.129 at the end of Q1FY20. However, its consolidated net revenue rose by 4.88 percent to Rs 21,131.3 from Rs. 20,147.8 crore. Lastly, the company's profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs. 623.1 crore as compared to Rs. 1,853.5 crore in Q2 FY19.

While announcing Airtel's quarterly result, its MD & CEO Gopal Vittal informed that "Despite being a seasonally weak quarter, we witnessed positive revenue growth in Q2 on the back of various initiatives aimed at providing superior differential services through our Thanks platform."

Adding to that, "We continue to witness strong data traffic growth of 81 percent Y-o-Y and added 8 million 4G customers on our network during the quarter. We remain committed to strengthening our network and providing a superior experience to our customers."

It is worth mentioning that the results were announced three weeks after the Supreme Court supported the government on the AGR issue. Under its ruling the SC wants them (telecom operators) to pay their dues in 90 days, which is another blow to the telecom industry, as they are already sitting on a huge debt.