Vodafone Idea Q1 results: Loss narrows to ₹3,754 crore as revenue rises, customer ARPU reaches ₹195

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) reported its highest industry customer ARPU growth and achieved its first quarter of positive net subscriber addition since the merger, driving revenue up 6.0% year-on-year to ₹11,689 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026.

The company narrowed its net loss for Q1 FY27 to ₹3,754 crore, down from a loss of ₹6,608 crore in Q1 FY26. Consolidated EBITDA for the quarter stood at ₹5,034 crore, recording a 9.1% year-on-year growth. Operational performance was bolstered by sequential subscriber additions and steady upgrades to high-speed broadband services.

The company's total subscriber base expanded to 193.1 million from 192.8 million in the previous quarter. Over 67% of the total base now uses 4G/5G services, with total 4G/5G subscribers reaching 130.1 million. Customer ARPU (excluding M2M) climbed 10.2% year-on-year to ₹195, up from ₹177 in Q1 FY26. Average data usage per 4G/5G subscriber increased to 21.7 GB per month, driving total daily data traffic on the network to 88.4 Pb/Day.

Network deployment picked up pace as 4G population coverage expanded to 87.0%, bringing an additional 39.4 million people into coverage since Q1 FY26. Broadband sites rose to nearly 580,900, while unique broadband towers reached 204,893. Concurrently, 5G coverage was expanded to over 200 cities across all 17 priority circles. Capital expenditure for the quarter was ₹1,930 crore. Out of its three-year capex guidance of ₹45,000 crore, the company has already placed equipment orders worth ₹9,000 crore.

On the financial front, VIL secured funding of ₹6,400 crore, comprising warrants alongside fund- and non-fund-based facilities. Cash and bank balances stood at ₹6,558 crore as of June 30, 2026, while bank debt remained low at ₹211 crore. Credit rating upgrades were secured during the period, with CRISIL assigning a rating of CRISIL A-/(Stable) in May 2026 and ICRA upgrading to ICRA A-/(Stable) in June 2026 for specific long-term facilities.

To combat digital fraud, VIL partnered with Meta to launch silent mobile verification (SMV) across WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, validating users directly through network capabilities.

On the consumer front, VIL expanded its digital portfolio by partnering with Spotify for postpaid users and launching 'Vi edu+' with PhysicsWallah for prepaid users in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Enterprise arm Vi Business introduced MSME Ready For Next 5.0, signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh MSME Development Corporation to empower 100,000 MSMEs, and collaborated with HPE Juniper Networking for AI-driven networking solutions.