Vodafone India revenue climbs 19.5 per cent to over Rs32,000 crore

Vodafone India has reported a 19.5 per cent rise in revenues for the financial year ended 31 March 2012, with its revenues crossing Rs32,000 crore in the country even as the GSM operator said it may not go ahead with the proposed initial public offer (IPO) this year in view of the policy uncertainty prevailing in the country.

The company's revenue rose to Rs32,184 crore during the reporting period, up from Rs26,937 crore posted during the same period a year ago. The company's operating profit was at Rs8,549 crore, up 21.6 per cent from the Rs7,030 crore in the previous fiscal.

''In India, we had a good year… Indian telecom market is highly competitive with 8-10 operators in each circle, compared with 4-5 in other countries, and the country is also the lowest average revenue per user market (ARPU),'' Vodafone India managing director and chief executive Marten Pieters said.

The GSM operator reported ARPUs of Rs180 in the January-March quarter. The Mumbai-based firm ported (under mobile number portability) 1.7 million customers as of 31 March from other operators, and crossed the 150-million milestone in terms of total customers.

The company, which had invested more than Rs50,000 crore and built more than 80,000 cell sites since 2007, has over Rs30,000 crore in net debt.

Vodafone India, in which Piramal Healthcare holds about 11 per cent stake, is preparing for its IPO, but the offer would be "highly unlikely" this year as issues over spectrum and pricing are to be tided over, Pieters said.