Vodafone loss balloons

Vodafone Idea has reported a larger-than-expected loss for the March quarter and a whopping Rs 73,878-crore net loss for the whole of 2020 — the highest ever by any Indian firm — as it made provisions for Supreme Court mandated statutory dues.

The country’s third largest telco saw its net loss widening to Rs 11,643.5 crore in the reporting quarter compared with Rs 4,881.9 crore in the same period a year ago and Rs 6,438.8 crore in the preceding three months.

This came as the firm took a hit of Rs 1,783.6 crore on account of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) related liabilities, and Rs 3,887 crore on account of one-time spectrum charges (OTSC), both of which were recognised as exceptional items during the quarter ended March 2019.