Vodafone Idea will focus on executing network investments and improving its competitiveness in the market in FY27, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said in the country’s third-largest carrier’s annual report. This, in turn, will help the company, which now has greater financial clarity, build a stronger balance sheet and chart a path towards sustained growth.
“FY26 was a year of resolution. FY27 begins a period of execution. The company enters this phase with greater financial clarity, improving operating performance and renewed capacity to invest. The priorities ahead are clear: execute the network investment programme, strengthen market competitiveness and translate a stronger balance sheet into sustained growth in customers and earnings,” Vodafone Idea Chairman Birla said in his address to shareholders in the annual report for the financial year ended March 2026, issued on Wednesday. He noted that the company had overcome its “most challenging years”.
He added that FY26 was not only a “milestone year” for Vi amid volatility, geopolitical tension and accelerating technological change in the global landscape, but also marked a “turning point” for the company. After several years of financial uncertainty, a number of longstanding challenges, including the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter, were resolved.
The company’s dues were finalised at ₹64,046 crore by a Department of Telecommunications committee, substantially below the earlier provisional figure of ₹87,695 crore, establishing a clear long-term repayment schedule.
Vi’s revenue increased 3 per cent to ₹44,873 crore in FY26 from ₹43,571 crore a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 4.8 per cent to ₹19,003 crore, while the Ebitda margin improved to 43.1 per cent from 41.6 per cent, reflecting disciplined cost management alongside steady revenue growth.
Birla also noted that subsequent improvements in operating performance strengthened confidence among investors and lenders during the year, with Vi raising ₹3,300 crore through non-convertible debentures ahead of the AGR resolution, in addition to support from its promoter groups.
“Promoter support remained unequivocal. Vodafone Group concluded the settlement of the Contingent Liability Adjustment Mechanism receivable amounting to ₹6,394 crore, while the Aditya Birla Group committed a further equity infusion of US$500 million (approximately ₹4,730 crore) through fully convertible instruments,” he noted.
“Continued support from promoters, stronger credit ratings and a return to positive subscriber additions together provide a firmer platform for the next phase of growth,” Birla added.
The Aditya Birla Group chairman called for “periodic tariff adjustments”, terming them “essential” for telecom companies to sustain investment and finance the rollout of next-generation networks. This comes at a time when mobile connections have crossed 1 billion, becoming India’s primary gateway to the digital economy, while average revenue per user (ARPU) remains among the lowest in the world.
“Maintaining a financially viable and competitive telecom industry — supported by sustained investment from both private operators and the public sector — will be central to India’s next phase of digital transformation,” he said.
Birla underscored that telecom had become essential national infrastructure and that India’s ambition to become a developed economy by 2047 would depend on resilient, high-quality and reliable communications networks. Business Standard
