21 - 05 - 2026

Vodafone Idea retains ₹45,000 crore capex guidance, pursues ₹25,000 crore loan

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has maintained its capital expenditure (capex) guidance of ₹45,000 crore over the next three years (FY27-29), even as the operator reiterated its target of a ₹25,000 crore debt-raise. The company is in talks with public sector undertaking (PSU) banks, private banks and foreign banks, according to a research report by IIFL Capital Services.

Including ₹49,000 crore spectrum payouts, Vi’s cash outflow including capex and interest outgo is ₹95,000 crore to ₹1 trillion. The company expects this to be met through a tripling of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) over three years to ₹60,000 crore, alongside a ₹25,000 crore debt-raise.

The remainder will be funded via ₹10,000 crore in bank guarantees, ₹10,000 crore from income tax (I-T) refunds and a contractual liability alignment mechanism (CLAM) with Vodafone PLC.

Vi has invested ₹16,000 crore capex in the past six quarters.

The firm’s acquisition of subscribers and retention have improved in key circles such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and UP (East) where capex has been disproportionately higher.

The company is confident of securing the ₹25,000 crore debt from a State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium, though it did not outline a timeline for the loan agreements. Lenders are reportedly monitoring the situation, as the ₹4,730 crore equity inflow from promoters could improve overall debt-raising prospects by increasing promoter equity stakes.

Operationally, the company said that its daily revenue run-rate in the fourth quarter of FY26 reached its highest level in six years, assisted by a 25 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in its Non-stop Hero unlimited data plans over three consecutive quarters. Average revenue per user (ARPU) excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections reached ₹190, driven by the migration of customers onto unlimited data plans.

Vi company aims to expand its cash Ebitda margins to more than 35 per cent in the long run, up from the current level of about 20 per cent, through systematic network cost reduction initiatives and reduced reliance on diesel power. Subscriber additions are projected to be driven by a 0.5-0.6 per cent reduction in subscriber churn from the current rate of 4.3 per cent, alongside an expansion of its 4G network capacity via 60,000 to 70,000 new site deployments and gains from mobile number portability.

While evaluating fixed wireless access technology, the operator confirmed its commercial focus will remain primarily on 5G services, IIFL Capital Services said.