Vodafone Idea shares rise nearly 2.5% as firm approaches Supreme Court over AGR dues

At 10 AM, Vodafone Idea shares were trading at ₹7.37 apiece, gaining 1.38% on the National Stock Exchange.

The development came after CNBC TV18 last month reported that the government had made it clear that it won't support the debt-laden carrier. Minister of State for Communications Chandra S Pemmasani told the channel that the government had already extended support by converting nearly ₹53,000 crore of dues into equity in 2021 and getting a 49% stake in the company.

In July, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told CNBC TV18 that it does not intend to turn Vodafone Idea into a public sector undertaking.

Last week, a report by The Economic Times suggested that the central government is looking for an investor who will buy a 12-13% stake in Vodafone Idea, investing around $1 billion (₹8,800 crore) to help the telecom firm.

It further stated that promoters Aditya Birla Group (ABG) and the UK’s Vodafone will have the option to dilute their stake, as the government wants to stay invested for some more time.

Vodafone Idea owes nearly ₹83,400 crore in AGR dues, and the annual payments currently stand at ₹18,000 crore, scheduled from March 2026. When combined with interest and penalties, Vodafone Idea’s dues stand at more than ₹2 lakh crore.

As per the report, one of the relief options is an additional two-year pause on paying the statutory dues under moratorium at present. The DoT has proposed to give the company extra time to pay its dues, along with smaller annual payouts and a waiver on penalties and interest penalties on AGR payment, the report said.

Vodafone Idea last month reported that its net loss in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY26) widened to ₹6,608 crore from a loss of ₹6,432 crore in the same period last year. On a sequential basis, however, its loss narrowed from ₹7,166 crore in the previous quarter.

Vodafone Idea's revenue from operations rose 5% annually in the April-June period to ₹11,008 crore from ₹10,487 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, Vodafone Idea launched 5G services in 22 cities across 13 circles. The company's average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric of a telecom firm's profitability, improved to ₹177 per month as against ₹154 in Q1FY25.

Vodafone Idea's 4G/5G subscriber base increased to 127.4 million from 126.7 million in the corresponding period last year.