Vodafone Idea Ltd — Q4 FY26 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript Vodafone Idea Ltd filed with BSE on 25 May 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
Vodafone Idea reported Q4 FY26 revenue of Rs. 11,332 Crore, up 2.9% year-on-year, with EBITDA of Rs. 4,889 Crore and customer ARPU rising to Rs. 190. The company recorded a net profit of Rs. 51,970 Crore for the quarter and Rs. 34,552 Crore for the full year, driven largely by an exceptional gain from the AGR liability reassessment which reduced dues to Rs. 64,046 Crore from Rs. 87,695 Crore. Management also disclosed a Rs. 4,730 Crore equity infusion commitment from Aditya Birla Group and continued investment in network rollout, including 4G/5G expansion and new broadband towers.
Numbers mentioned
Revenue: Rs. 11,332 Crore (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“Next, our revenue for Q4FY26 was Rs. 11,332 Crore, a 2.9% growth on a YoY basis.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revenue: Rs. 44,873 Crore (FY26)
p. 4
“Revenue for the full year grew by 3.0% to Rs. 44,873 Crore in FY26 from Rs. 43,571 Crore in FY25.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cash EBITDA: Rs. 9,217 Crore (FY26)
p. 4
“The cash EBITDA for FY26 was Rs. 9,217 Crore vs. Rs. 9,198 Crore in FY25.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Customer ARPU: Rs. 190 (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“We also saw a healthy expansion in our Customer ARPU from Rs. 175 in Q4FY25 to Rs. 190 in Q4FY26, a growth of 8.3% YoY.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
4G/5G subscriber mix: 66.9% (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“The Customer ARPU expansion over the last year has been driven primarily by premiumization which is evident from our improving 4G/5G subscriber mix which stood at 66.9% in Q4FY26 up from 63.8% in Q4FY25.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Data usage: 83.0 Petabyte/day (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“Our data usage in Q4FY26 has also increased YoY by over 30% to 83.0 Petabyte/day from 63.8 Petabyte/day in Q4FY25.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA: Rs. 4,889 Crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“Coming to EBITDA. EBITDA for the quarter was Rs. 4,889 Crores, improving 4.9% versus the same quarter last year.”
Tejas Mehta, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA margin: 43.1% (Q4 FY26)
p. 6
“This actually translated into an EBITDA margin improvement of 80 basis points to 43.1%.”
Tejas Mehta, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Bank debt: Rs. 726 Crores (as at March 31, 2026)
p. 7
“Also pleased to share that our bank debt has further reduced to only Rs. 726 Crores as at March 31st from Rs.2,326 Crores from the March of last year, a reduction of Rs.1600 Crores.”
Tejas Mehta, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Free cash bank balance: Rs. 3,715 Crores (as of March 31, 2026)
p. 7
“The free cash bank balance stood at Rs.3,715 Crores as of March 31st, 2026.”
Tejas Mehta, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
AGR dues: Rs. 64,046 Crore (as of December 31, 2025)
p. 3
“Our AGR dues have been finalised at Rs 64,046 Crore as of December 31, 2025 — a reduction from the earlier frozen figure of Rs 87,695 Crore.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net profit: Rs. 51,970 Crores (Q4 FY26)
p. 7
“With this one-time benefit in exceptional items, we recorded a net profit of Rs. 51,970 Crores in Q4 FY 2026 and a net profit of Rs. 34,552 Crores for the full year of FY 2026.”
Tejas Mehta, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Subscriber base: 192.8 million (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“I am particularly pleased to share that during the quarter we have been able to stablise our subscriber base at 192.8 million customers vis-à-vis last quarter, a first since the merger.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Capex: Rs. 8,742 Crore (FY26)
p. 7
“Investment for the quarter was at Rs. 2,294 Crores and closing the full year at Rs.8,742 Crores for investment.”
Tejas Mehta, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
Capex — Rs. 45,000 Crores · next three years
stated firmly by Abhijit Kishore
p. 9
“So, on the debt raise, we've maintained our capex for the over the next three years for Rs. 45,000 Crores.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Debt fundraise — funded facility of Rs. 25,000 Crores and non-funded facility of Rs. 10,000 Crores
stated conditionally by Abhijit Kishore
p. 9
“We are looking at a funded facility of Rs. 25,000 Crores and a non-funded facility of Rs. 10,000 Crores.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cash EBITDA margin — north of 35% · next three-four years
stated as an aspiration by Tejas Mehta
p. 12
“If you use the numbers we've shared before they translate to a double-digit revenue growth and the cash EBITDA number will be north of 35%.”
Tejas Mehta, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Churn — 0.5% - 0.6% reduction
stated conditionally by Abhijit Kishore
p. 15
“We are targeting a 0.5% - 0.6% reduction in churn.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
4G site additions — 60,000 to 70,000 4G sites · next year or year and a half
stated firmly by Abhijit Kishore
p. 15
“Over the next year or year and a half, we will add another 60,000 to 70,000 4G sites so that is another 125 million population being brought under the fold.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Cumulative cash EBITDA — Rs. 60,000 Crores · FY27-FY29
stated as an aspiration by Tejas Mehta
p. 16
“that gives me a cumulative cash EBITDA between FY'27, '28 and '29 of about Rs. 60,000 Crores.”
Tejas Mehta, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revenue growth — double-digit
stated as an aspiration by Abhijit Kishore
p. 17
“our three-year targets are unambiguous: sustained net customer addition, double-digit revenue growth, and 3x EBITDA.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Per-subscriber cost of acquisition
stated firmly by Abhijit Kishore
p. 15
“We will rather have a per-sub cost of acquisition lower than this year.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Management attributed ARPU growth to network investment, increased data consumption, and growth in the Nonstop Hero unlimited data offering.
Answered by Abhijit Kishore
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: What is driving the strong sequential ARPU growth given underwhelming 4G/5G subscriber additions?
p. 8
“So, both of these; investment on network, addition of sites, increase in capacity, increase in population, we've also added roughly around 48 million more population to our kitty, which was not able to experience our services.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said they are engaged with an SBI-led consortium and confident of closing but declined to give a timeline.
Answered by Abhijit Kishore
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: Where are we on the debt fundraise timeline?
p. 9
“We are deeply engaged, as we have said, it's an SBI-led consortium which is looking into this, the consortium is composed of PSU banks, private banks as well as the foreign banks.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said efficiency gains offset rollout costs this year but expects some inflation in cash costs going forward.
Answered by Tejas Mehta
Asked by Sanjesh Jain: Is network opex efficiency sustainable given the significant site additions?
p. 10
“But if you look at the cash cost, or look at the cash EBITDA, in the future you will see a little bit of inflation, but our efforts on efficiency will not go away.”
Tejas Mehta, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the ambition is for cash EBITDA margin to reach north of 35% if revenue growth targets are achieved, without committing to a specific year.
Answered by Tejas Mehta
Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman: Where does cash EBITDA margin trend toward after the capex cycle completes?
p. 12
“We don't want to share in which year that will happen but that should be our ambition for EBITDA margin.”
Tejas Mehta, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said investment in network experience improved customer retention, and cited a deliberate strategy to reduce gross additions in favor of quality customers.
Answered by Abhijit Kishore
Asked by Vivekanand Subbaraman: What has driven the reduction in subscriber churn?
p. 12
“We have taken some strategic decisions for reducing cost of acquisition, which effectively means a better-quality customer.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management explained that customers with patchy network experience tend to move in and out of the network, lowering the VLR percentage in some circles.
Answered by Abhijit Kishore
Asked by Gaurav Malhotra: Why is the VLR subscriber percentage still lower than peers?
p. 14
“So, this VLR percentage, if I look at some of the circles are upwards of 93%-92%, but in certain circles it pulls us down to 80% and hence the average range lied between 88%-87%.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management laid out a cumulative three-year cash requirement of about Rs. 100,000 Crores and detailed sources including cash EBITDA growth, debt facilities, CLAM settlement, and IT refunds.
Answered by Tejas Mehta
Asked by Balaji Subramanian: How will spectrum payouts from FY28 onward be funded absent further equity or debt conversion?
p. 16
“Now let me look at the cash sources for the next three years: as we've shared we want to look at tripling our EBITDA, and we spoke about the levers as well, that gives me a cumulative cash EBITDA between FY'27, '28 and '29 of about Rs. 60,000 Crores.”
Tejas Mehta, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Higher churn rate compared to competitors
p. 15
“Our churn is approximately 4%, which is significantly higher than the other operators.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Weak representation in mobile number portability market
p. 15
“There are roughly around 1.4 odd Crore customer every month which come in the MNP segment to be acquired. I think we play a very small part there with some 3-odd million customers.”
Abhijit Kishore, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Temporary dip in smartphone sales due to RAM shortage
p. 13
“there's a little bit of a dip that we saw in the smartphone being sold in the country, but I think to my mind that's more temporary and it's not something that will stay”
Abhijit Kishore, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Possible future inflation in network operating costs as efficiency benefits lap prior year gains
p. 10
“we would be lapping a year of this benefit already and hence you might see some inflation going forward as well”
Tejas Mehta, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gap in ARPU versus peers
p. 12
“Because we know that the gap between your EBITDA margin and that of the peers is very significant.”
Vivekanand Subbaraman, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Generated by claude-sonnet-5. Source: the transcript as filed with BSE. We link to the exchange's copy; we do not host transcripts. Parakho is a data and screening tool, not an investment adviser — nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.