Vodafone service revenue Rs 35,610 crore in FY13

Vodafone has earned Rs 2,000 crore from data in the last fiscal, a 50% jump to the last year period.
Indian arm of Vodafone plan to go for a pan-India 3G network thus shown keen interested to buy airwaves on this platform from other mobile service providers companies, Marten Pieters MD of the company said.

Vodafone's 3G airwaves in 11 circles,offers nationwide high-end data services through roaming pacts with Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular, has been restrained from adding new data customers in circles where it does not own 3G bandwidth."The purchase price Vodafone will settle for (3G spectrum) will be based on a "commercial negotiation and depends on how desperately they (other telecom companies) are to sell," Vodafone India's managing director Marten Pieters told media after the company had reported a three-fold increase in profit for the year ended March 31, 2013.

Vodafone's adjusted operating profit rose to £221 million (Rs 1,854 crore) in FY13, higher from £60 million (Rs 503 crore) in the previous financial year. For the Q4 ended March 31 this year, Vodafone earned Rs 9,276 crore as revenue, which is 7.2% higher than the Q4 the previous fiscal.

Vodafone's Service revenue is Rs 35,610 crore in FY13, 10.6% higher than Rs 32,564 crore a with respect to comparing its year ago. Vodafone earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization climbed 24.5% to Rs 10,640 crore from Rs 8,549 crore in the same period. 

The telecom company's annual income, in turn, rose roughly 15% to Rs 22,457 crore.

Vodafone's Pieters briefing the media said that clarity on the spectrum pricing over the next two years and renewal of its licenses in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in the 900-MHz band that are due next year would be critical for the company's future.These issues would have to be addressed before the company could go ahead with its proposed initial public offer (IPO). "It is impossible to do the IPO if we do not have more certainty around spectrum pricing for next two years because many of our licenses are up for renewal next year and the year after. That has such a big impact on our numbers that it is impossible to do the IPO if we do not have clarity on these two issues," he added. 

Vodafone asked for extension of its licenses in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata as are due for renewal in 2014,  the government has rejected its demand.Government persist  that the telco to pay a market price. Pieters said, Vodafone willing to pay for license extension, at an 'economically feasible' price.

 Marten Pieters said the telco sellers  may be  companies like Aircel and Tata Teleservices, who are in a financial straits.  India's merger and acquisition policy forces any buyer to pay a market price for airwaves to the government in case of an acquisition and return any surplus spectrum stipulated by the Department of Telecommunications.

"We would like to have nationwide 3G services, so overtime we will have to get there one way or the other," he said speaking at the sidelines of the company's annual financial result announcement and buying spectrum from other operators would be based on 'commercial negotiations'.

Vodafone with  strength of 37 million data customers on its network, only 3.3 million use 3G services. Vodafone plans to get a pan india coverage through roaming agreements with Bharti Airtel and Idea have been deemed illegal by the telecom department and the matter is before the Supreme Court.

Double digit revenue growth, significant margin improvement resulting in robust cash flows

• Revenues at INR 356 billion, up by 10.6%
• Data (Browsing) Revenues at INR 20 billion, up by 50.5%
• EBITDA margin at 29.7%, grows by 3.4ppt
• Operating Free Cash Flow at INR 63 billion, up by 58.3%

Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunication service providers announces its Full Year IFRS results for the financial year ended March 31, 2013

STRONG FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

• Consistent revenue growth; Service revenue of INR 356,101 million in FY13 vs. INR 321,844 million in FY12, a growth of 10.6%
• Revenue performance driven by strong growth in voice minutes and data revenues; partially offset by the effect of regulatory changes
• EBITDA at INR 106,406 million in FY 13 vs. INR 85,493 million in FY12 , a significant margin improvement of 3.4 ppt from 26.3% to 29.7%
• Healthy Operating Free Cash Flow (OFCF) at INR 62,951 million in FY13 vs. INR 39,776 million in FY12, growth by 58.3%
• Margin improvement and OFCF driven by scale benefits, operating efficiencies and lower acquisition costs
• Capex spend of INR 47,301 million in FY13 with focus on future growth areas including 3G and data.