Telcos’ Q3 earnings may rise up to 1.5% on redefined AGR

Vodafone Idea NSE -2.44 % (Vi), Bharti Airtel NSE -0.85 % and Reliance Jio Infocomm will see 1-1.5% rise in quarterly operating income and some margin expansion along with improved cash flows from fiscal third quarter, after the exclusion of a host of non-telecom income items under the new definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), analysts said.

This is since the new AGR definition, effective October 1, will translate into savings in telcos’ regulatory payouts towards licence fees and spectrum usage charge (SUC).