Vodafone takes Rs 37,382 crore charge

London: British telecom major Vodafone on Tuesday posted over two-fold increase in losses at 5 billion euros, or Rs 37,382 crore, in the first half of the fiscal ended September, due to impairment of non-cash assets of Indian arm impacted by stiff competition, primarily from Reliance Jio.

Vodafone reported a loss of 2.34 billion euro in the same period a year ago. The company has also deferred plan of going public in India due to unfavourable market condition.

“We recorded a non-cash impairment of 5 billion euro, net of tax, in the period relating to our Indian business. This was driven by lower projected cash flows within our business plan as a result of increased competition in the market,” Vodafone said in its financial statement.

Reliance Jio is offering free unlimited 4G mobile broadband service till December 31, 2016 and unlimited free voice call and roaming service for lifetime.

“The Group intends to proceed with an IPO of Vodafone India as soon as market conditions allow. We do not expect this to take place during the current financial year,” Vodafone said.

The Group’s operating loss was 4.7 billion euro, compared to an operating profit of 1.1 billion euro in the prior period, it added.