Vodafone Idea Limited has announced a significant change in its senior management structure following a Board meeting held on May 16, 2026. The telecommunications major accepted the resignation of Mr. Arvind Nevatia, who served as the Chief Enterprise Business Officer. Mr. Nevatia expressed his desire to pursue external opportunities and will be relieved from his duties on or before July 28, 2026.

Appointment of New Chief

To fill the vacancy, the Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, approved the appointment of Mr. M.P. Sunil Kumar. He will assume the role of Chief Enterprise Business Officer with effect from May 18, 2026. The appointment is categorized as Senior Management Personnel (SMP) and entails full-time employment.

Profile of the Appointee

Mr. M.P. Sunil Kumar brings extensive experience to the role, having spent 29 years in the institutional business sector within the telecom industry. His career includes a 15-year tenure at Vodafone Idea, where he previously held positions such as Head of Carrier and wholesale business and Cluster Business Head in the consumer business. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Chief Growth Officer at Tanla Platforms Ltd and was the CEO of Constl, a Space World Group Company. His professional history also includes roles at Tata Communications, Bharti Infotel, GTL Ltd, and Sprint RPG India.

Management Transition Details

The transition follows Mr. Nevatia's nearly 11-year stint with the organization. The company has disclosed that there are no specific relationships between the outgoing or incoming officers and the company directors that require disclosure under Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Regulations.

Vodafone Idea Limited reported a landmark turnaround in its financial results for the quarter and full year ended March 31, 2026. The Board of Directors approved the audited standalone and consolidated financial results at their meeting held on May 16, 2026. The meeting also approved the issuance of fully convertible warrants worth Rs. 4,730 Cr ($500 million) to an Aditya Birla Group promoter entity on a preferential basis. The results were signed off by Non-Executive Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and filed with stock exchanges pursuant to Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. Statutory auditors S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP issued an audit report with an unmodified opinion on both the standalone and consolidated financial results.

FY26 Financial Performance

Vodafone Idea's consolidated revenue from operations grew 3.0% year-on-year to Rs. 44,873 Cr in FY26, compared to Rs. 43,571 Cr in FY25. EBITDA for the full year rose 4.8% to Rs. 19,003 Cr from Rs. 18,127 Cr in FY25, with the EBITDA margin improving to 42.3% from 41.6%. The company reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs. 34,552 Cr for FY26, a sharp reversal from a net loss of Rs. 20,217 Cr in FY25, primarily driven by exceptional items of Rs. 58,607 Cr. Capex for FY26 stood at Rs. 8,742 Cr. The following table summarises the consolidated financial highlights:

Q4FY26 Quarterly Highlights

For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs. 11,332 Cr, a year-on-year growth of 2.9% and the highest average daily revenue in the last six years. EBITDA for the quarter was Rs. 4,889 Cr, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 4.9%, with an EBITDA margin of 43.1% compared to 42.3% in Q4FY25. Customer ARPU rose to Rs. 190 in Q4FY26 from Rs. 175 in Q4FY25, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%, described as the highest in the industry. The subscriber base stabilised at 192.8 million, with monthly subscriber additions turning net positive since February 2026. The 4G/5G subscriber base stood at 128.9 million, up from 126.4 million in Q4FY25. ICRA upgraded the company's credit rating and outlook to [ICRA] BBB (Positive) in March 2026 from [ICRA] BBB-(Stable).

AGR Resolution and Exceptional Items

A significant development underpinning the financial turnaround was the resolution of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), via a communication dated January 27, 2026, confirmed AGR dues frozen as of December 31, 2025 at Rs. 87,695 Cr, subject to reassessment. Subsequently, on April 30, 2026, DoT communicated that the reassessment committee had finalised AGR dues at Rs. 64,046 Cr for FY 2006-07 to FY 2018-19. The revised payment schedule is structured as follows:

In accordance with Ind AS 109, the financial liability of Rs. 80,502 Cr as at December 31, 2025 was derecognised, and a revised financial liability of Rs. 24,880 Cr was recognised at present value of future payments. The resulting difference of Rs. 55,622 Cr, along with net impact of other related provisions, was credited to the statement of Profit & Loss under "Exceptional Items." Total exceptional items for FY26 amounted to Rs. 58,607 Cr on a consolidated basis. The consolidated loss before exceptional items and tax for FY26 was Rs. 24,059 Cr, and the group's net worth stood at negative Rs. 35,758 Cr as at March 31, 2026.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Position

As at March 31, 2026, consolidated total assets stood at Rs. 1,91,638 Cr, compared to Rs. 1,97,868 Cr as at March 31, 2025. Cash and cash equivalents improved to Rs. 2,106 Cr from Rs. 257 Cr a year earlier, while the cash and bank balance stood at Rs. 3,715 Cr as of March 31, 2026. Outstanding debt from banks and others (including interest accrued but not due) stood at Rs. 4,127 Cr on a consolidated basis, with instalments payable by March 2027 at Rs. 726 Cr. Deferred payment obligations towards Spectrum stood at Rs. 1,27,360 Cr and towards AGR at Rs. 25,254 Cr. Net cash flows from operating activities for FY26 were Rs. 19,411 Cr, a significant improvement from Rs. 9,290 Cr in FY25. The company also raised Rs. 3,300 Cr via Non-Convertible Debentures in December 2025. Key balance sheet metrics are presented below:

Network Expansion and Operational Milestones

Vodafone Idea expanded its Vi 5G services to all 17 priority circles, covering over 80 cities, following the initial launch in Mumbai in March 2025. These 17 circles contribute approximately 99% of the company's revenue. During FY26, the company added over 17,300 new unique broadband towers, taking the total to over 202,000. 4G population coverage increased to 86.3% as of March 2026, with 48.2 million incremental population brought under 4G coverage. 4G data capacity increased by over 12% compared to FY25. On the enterprise and consumer side, the Non-Stop Hero proposition recorded over 25% sequential growth for the last three quarters, and the postpaid segment registered positive net additions for eight consecutive quarters. The company also launched an AI-powered recharge assistant on the Vi App and, under Vi Protect, categorised nearly 2 billion calls and SMSs as suspected spam during the quarter.

CEO Abhijit Kishore commented: "The gains from the capex investments and network rollout are now clearly visible. Q4FY26 marks a decisive step forward with all seven key parameters that we benchmark our performance to, demonstrating sequential improvement. Most significantly, our subscriber addition turned net positive since February 2026, a meaningful milestone that reflects the impact of our sustained network investment."

Source: None/Company/INE669E01016/4be489a2-39a6-447f-b152-5c91c2290d80.pdf