 "In talks with Vodafone Idea, hopeful of recovering dues soon: Indus Towers")
Indus Towers on Wednesday said that it was in talks with Vodafone Idea (Vi) and remained hopeful of recovering their dues “soon” given the recent fundraising by the telecom operator, the company's senior management said in the post-results call for Q4 FY24.
Vi's recently concluded Rs 18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) has given hope to the company of dues being cleared, the Indus management said, even as they stressed it was still too early to comment on a timeline for repayment.
“There is a possibility that our cash flow situation might improve in FY25,” Prachur Sah, Managing Director & CEO of Indus Towers said.
Last month, Citi Research estimated Vi's total dues to Indus at Rs 5,700 crore after the last round of payments. Indus executives stressed the company has recovered additional sums beyond the full collection of current dues in the latest quarter, leading to write-backs in provisions.
However, Indus Towers is keen on servicing Vi's expected network expansion for 4G and rollout of 5G, pointing out the company has an expansive portfolio of towers.
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Sah said most telcos operate both macro towers, which have higher height and larger throw, alongside leaner towers which have lower height, smaller configuration and loading capacity.
A day before, the tower company had reported a 32.4 per cent y-o-y rise in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) in the fourth quarter (January-March) of FY24. PAT stood at Rs 1,853 crore in Q4, as compared to Rs 1,399 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
On a sequential basis, PAT rose 20.3 per cent from the Rs 1,540 crore registered in Q3.
Revenue rose to Rs 71,932 in Q4, up 6.48 percent from Rs 67,549 in Q4 FY23. However, it slipped by marginally from the Rs 71,990 recorded in the immediately preceding quarter.
However, the average revenue per tower fell to Rs 70,027 in Q4, down 4.87 percent from Rs 73,615 in Q4 FY23.
As of March, 2024, the company had over 219,736 towers across all 22 telecom circles, up 7,961 in the latest quarter. The number of co-locations nationwide stood at 368,588, higher by 7,909 in Q4. Sah said 8-10 percent of the portfolio is getting renewed every year.
The tower company counts all three private sector telcos - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vi - among its clients. Its share price rose 0.85 percent on Wednesday to end at Rs 354.8.