India's Vodafone Idea reports lower-than-expected Q1 loss on reduced expenses

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss on Monday, helped by a fall in expenses.

The company posted a consolidated loss after tax of 64.32 billion rupees ($766.4 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared to a loss of 78.40 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a loss of 75.76 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Vodafone Idea's revenue slipped 1.4% to 105.08 billion rupees, below analysts' expectation of 105.92 billion rupees.

However, its total expenses fell 7% to 171.91 billion rupees, helped by lower finance costs, network expenses and license fees.

Its 4G subscriber base grew 3% year-on-year to 126.7 million, as more subscribers migrated away from 2G. However, its total subscriber count fell about 5.1% to 210.1 million.

The company, formed by a merger between the Indian arm of UK's Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group's Idea Cellular in 2018, has posted a loss in every quarter as it lost ground to larger rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.

The company had in April raised about 200 billion rupees with an aim to launch 5G services and expand 4G coverage to catch up with Airtel and Jio, which have already launched 5G services in the country.

It said it expects to grow its 4G coverage by about 16 million by the end of September 2024.

The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) grew 5% to 146 rupees from last year, but still lagging behind Jio and Airtel, whose ARPUs stood at 181.7 rupees and 211 rupees, respectively.

The three companies had raised tariffs for the first time in three years in late-June.

Airtel and Jio previously reported upbeat results on the back of higher subscriber additions.

($1 = 83.9250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)