Vodafone Idea Posts First Subscriber Gains Since Merger as Revenue Climbs 6%
India's third-largest telecom operator reported positive net subscriber additions for the first time since its 2018 merger, while raising INR 6,400 crores in fresh funding.
Revenue and Subscriber Gains Signal Turnaround
Vodafone Idea Limited reported revenue of INR 11,689 crores for the quarter ending June 30, 2026, marking a 6% year-on-year increase and a 3.2% sequential improvement (earnings call, 2026-08-11). The company achieved a significant milestone by posting positive net subscriber additions for the first time since its 2018 merger, bringing its total subscriber base to 193.1 million customers.
"All 7 of these critical business parameters are now trending positively," said Abhijit Kishore, noting improvements across revenue, subscriber base, churn reduction, and network expansion (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) grew 10.2% year-on-year to INR 195 in Q1 FY27, up from INR 177 in the same quarter last year, representing the 20th consecutive quarter of ARPU growth (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
Network Expansion and 5G Rollout
Vodafone Idea expanded its 4G coverage to 87% pan-India after adding nearly 3,000 unique broadband towers during the quarter and over 15,600 new sites in the past 12 months (earnings call, 2026-08-11). The company's 5G services are now live in over 200 cities across all 17 circles where it holds spectrum.
The network improvements drove customer engagement, with average data usage by 4G and 5G subscribers increasing 25.2% year-on-year to 21.7 GB. Overall data usage reached 88.4 petabytes per day, up 28% from 69.1 petabytes in Q1 FY26 (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
The company's 4G and 5G subscriber mix reached 67.4%, up from 64.4% in the year-ago quarter, with total 4G/5G subscribers at 130.1 million (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
Financial Performance and Funding
Cash EBITDA grew 13.5% to INR 2,475 crores, while overall EBITDA reached INR 5,034 crores, improving 9.1% year-on-year (earnings call, 2026-08-11). EBITDA margin expanded by over 120 basis points to 23.1%.
The company secured critical funding to support its INR 45,000 crore three-year capital expenditure plan. Vodafone Idea raised INR 6,400 crores in its first funding tranche, including INR 1,183 crores from warrant proceeds from promoter Aditya Birla Group and debt through ECB and Indian private banks (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
CRISIL assigned the company an "A stable" rating in May 2026, followed by an upgrade to "ICRA A- stable" by ICRA in June 2026 (earnings call, 2026-08-11).
CFO Tejas Mehta noted that bank debt decreased to INR [amount unclear] crores as of June 30 from INR 1,926 crores a year earlier, a reduction of INR 1,715 crores (earnings call, 2026-08-11). Free cash and bank balances stood at INR 6,538 crores.
CapEx Deployment
The company placed orders worth INR 9,000 crores for capital expenditure, though Q1 FY27 actual CapEx was INR 1,930 crores due to "geopolitical headwinds impairing the CapEx deployment" and "supply side issues arising from geopolitical constraints" (earnings call, 2026-08-11). Management indicated plans to accelerate network expansion with equipment partners Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung.
This article was generated by MarginX from the earnings call on 2026-08-11. It is not investment advice.