- Vodafone Idea expects to close a fundraising deal with an SBI-led consortium to support its Rs 45,000 crore capex plan, a senior company official said on Tuesday.
- During the company's earnings call, Vodafone Idea (Vi) CEO Abhijit Kishore said the company has already raised Rs 6,400 crore as the first tranche of funds, including Rs 1,183 crore from warrants and debt proceeds, through ECB and Indian private banks.
- Kishore said, "We are hopeful of closing the discussion with the PSU banks led by SBI, as well as continuing work on other debt-raised streams."
- The company has placed fresh orders of around Rs 9,000 crore for network expansion, out of which Rs 1,930 crore was deployed in the June 2026 quarter.
- The June 2026 quarter was the first quarter after a long gap when Vi recorded growth in subscriber base.
- The company's finance cost declined by 13 per cent to Rs 5,120 crore during the reporting period from Rs 5,893 crore in the June quarter of last year.
Vodafone Idea is on track to finalize a ₹45,000 crore fundraising deal with an SBI-led consortium, as confirmed by CEO Abhijit Kishore. The company has already secured ₹6,400 crore in the first tranche, including ₹1,183 crore from warrants and debt proceeds.1
Kishore expressed optimism about concluding discussions with public sector banks, stating, "We are hopeful of closing the discussion with the PSU banks led by SBI, as well as continuing work on other debt-raised streams." The telecom operator has initiated a ₹9,000 crore network expansion plan, with ₹1,930 crore already deployed in the June 2026 quarter.345
Despite a slight year-on-year decline in subscriber base to 19.31 crore, Vodafone Idea reported a quarterly net addition, marking the first growth in subscribers after a prolonged period. The company's 4G and 5G subscriber base increased by 2% to 13 crore year-on-year.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) rose by 10.2% to ₹195 in Q1 FY27, up from ₹177 in the same quarter last year, attributed to the introduction of premium plans alongside the expansion of 4G and 5G services. Kishore noted, "As we speak, we are over 16,000 sites in 5G. We intend to kind of cover another 200-plus cities over the next two quarters."
Vodafone Idea's loss narrowed to ₹3,754 crore in Q1 FY27 from ₹6,611 crore a year ago, while finance costs decreased by 13% to ₹5,120 crore.6
The company's revenue from operations grew 6% year-on-year to ₹11,689 crore during the quarter, up from ₹11,023 crore in the same period of FY26.
“Vi has already raised Rs 6,400 crore as the first tranche, including Rs 1,183 crore from warrants and debt proceeds. The company plans to deploy Rs 9,100 crore in network orders within two quarters, targeting 3,500 4G sites monthly and 200-plus more 5G cities.”
