Scrips of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea rally despite record losses

In a major surprise, shares of the two telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea rallied sharply on Friday despite both companies posting a record cumulative loss of ₹70,000 crore.

Interestingly, broking firms have given a ‘buy’ call on both these stocks expecting a bailout package from the government.

Bharti Airtel on the BSE gained 8 per cent to ₹393 after hitting a high of ₹398 and low of ₹354 on Friday. The stock of Vodafone Idea Cellular shot up 25 per cent to ₹3.68 and hit a high of ₹3.89 and low of ₹2.61. The company, on Thursday, reported consolidated loss of ₹50,921 crore in the September quarter, the highest ever loss posted by any Indian corporate on account of the liability arising out of the Supreme Court order in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case.