In Chairman’s letter to shareholders, Himanshu Kapania cited persistent challenges in the operating environment
Ailing telecom operator Vodafone Idea in its latest annual report flagged the industry’s “volatile financial pressure” and expressed hope that the government would provide necessary support to address “all structural issues” facing the sector. .
In the chairman’s letter to shareholders, Himanshu Kapania cited persistent challenges in the operating environment amid “volatile pricing” and “hyper-competition” during FY21. Mr. Kapania expressed the hope that the government would support the efforts to generate a reasonable return on investment on a large scale.
“As the industry continues to remain under financial pressure, your Company expects the Government to provide necessary support to address all the structural issues being faced by the sector,” said Mr. Kapania, who has been appointed as non-executive by the VIL Board. was chosen as. Birla resigned from the post in early August, succeeding Kumar Mangalam.
VIL with a 25-year history of providing mobile services to the country “expects that the government will support their efforts to generate reasonable returns on their large investments”, he added.
During FY21, the operating environment remained challenging due to volatile pricing and hyper-competition, which was further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Kapania said.
While operational challenges remain, growth in digital penetration, which has been further boosted during the pandemic, remains a huge opportunity for the telecom industry, especially as pricing revives in the future, the company said.
VIL “believes that the Government recognizes the importance of this sector and the importance of maintaining healthy competition among private sector operators”.
“…While the company awaits the final decision of the government, it will continue to focus on providing quality service to customers and maintaining market intensity,” said Mr. Kapania.
The long-term prospects for the Indian economy remain strong as initiatives such as privatization of public sector enterprises, monetization of assets, implementation of a national infrastructure pipeline, production linked incentive scheme and new labor code are expected to boost one Is. Good cycle of investment and growth in the medium term.
Rising consumption of content, particularly through video, and use of social media is driving strong demand for high-speed Internet, and VIL with its strong spectrum portfolio, network sites and large network investments in the form of optical fiber, broad-based With distribution reach and strong customer affinity, the chairman’s note said it is “in a very good position” to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the market.
VIL is focused on increasing 4G penetration to increase Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), and consolidate its position on the rapidly growing segment of business services, particularly IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud services.
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