Vodafone Idea surges 21% in two days, stock nears 52-week high

Shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL) were trading higher for the second straight day, up 6 per cent at Rs 13.40 on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade, and have rallied as much as 21 per cent in past two days on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of telecom services provider was quoting near to its 52-week high level of Rs 13.80 touched on January 15, 2021.

In the past two weeks, the stock has surged 34 per cent after the company increased its prepaid tariff by 20-25 per cent from November 25, 2021. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 2.7 per cent during the same period.

At 10:23 am; VIL was trading 4 per cent higher at Rs 13.13, against 0.67 per cent gain in the benchmark index. A combined 415.3 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

On November 23, VIL hiked its prepaid tariff plans by 20-22 per cent across the board and 25 per cent in base entry level voice (2G plan), similar to Airtel. The company said the new plans will start the process of average revenue per unit (ARPU) improvement and help address the financial stress faced by the industry.

Last month, VIL’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ravinder Takkar said, the company expects to conclude its fundraising in the current financial year.

VIL opted for deferment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and Spectrum installments for 4 years. The deferral of spectrum dues will result in liquidity of around Rs 589 billion over a period of 4 years (around Rs 147 billion annually), the company said in investor presentation.

VIL further said it is in discussion with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to determine the final amount of AGR in line with the Supreme Court (SC) order. The reduction in bank guarantees will reduce the bank’s exposure to VIL and help in various ongoing discussions with banks and other lenders. The digital transformation, enhanced customer experienced and partnerships to drive cash generation, it said.

Meanwhile, according to reports, Reliance Jio is learnt to have written to the sector regulator Trai complaining that the new tariff structure of VIL allegedly restricts entry-level customers to port their mobile number from its network. VIL in November raised mobile services and data rates by 18-25 per cent.

"Jio has complained to Trai that VIL new tariff restricts people opting for low value plans from porting their mobile number as outgoing SMS facility is not available in the entry level plans of VIL," the PTI reported, quoting sources.