Voda Idea Q3 revenue up 2%

Tuesday 18th February 2020 14:16 EST
 

After reporting the biggest quarterly loss in Indian corporate history in the second quarter of 2019-20 (at £5.09 billion), Vodafone-Idea said that loss in the third-quarter stood at £643.9 million as steep competition, high costs and large debt servicing depressed earnings. The massive loss in the second quarter was mainly on account of the provisions that the company had made towards the heavy dues that it needs to pay to the government - estimated at over £5.3 billion - following the October 23 Supreme Court order regarding Adjusted Gross Revenues (AGR). Vodafone-Idea said while profitability remains elusive by a large distance, the company managed to grow its revenues in the third quarter by 2.3%. The upward movement came after 14 consecutive quarters of declines. Revenues for the company stood at £1.11 billion. The company said as it works on improving operational efficiencies and taming costs, it is also taking steps to seek a relief on AGR order.

Moody’s cuts India growth projection for 2020

Moody’s Investors Service slashed India’s growth forecast to 5.4% for 2020 from 6.6% projected earlier on slower than expected economic recovery. In its update on Global Macro Outlook, Moody’s said India’s economy has decelerated rapidly over the last two years and expects economic recovery to begin in the current quarter. “We expect any recovery to be slower than we had previously expected. Accordingly, we have revised our growth forecasts to 5.4% for 2020 and 5.8% for 2021, down from our previous projections of 6.6% and 6.7%, respectively, Moody’s said. The growth projections are based on calendar year and as per its estimates, India has clocked a GDP growth of 5% in 2019. With a weak economy and depressed credit growth reinforcing each other, Moody’s said it is difficult to envision a quick turnaround of either, even if economic deceleration may have troughed. On the fiscal front, it said, the Union Budget 2020 did not contain a significant stimulus to address the demand slump. As similar policies in other countries have shown, tax cuts are unlikely to translate into higher consumer and business spending when risk aversion is high, it said.

Exports fall for 6th month in row, imports for 10th month

India’s exports fell 1.7% in January, the sixth straight monthly decline, while imports dropped for the 10th month in a row, pushing up trade deficit to a seven-month high of $15.2 billion. Data released by the commerce department estimated exports at $26.4 billion in January, while imports were pegged at $41.5 billion. Data showed this was the first time in nearly six months that the pace of import contraction was slower than pace of decline in exports. The decline in exports was visible across a majority of the sectors, with 18 of the 30 major segments seeing a contraction in the value of their shipments during the month. Leading the fall was oil meals (down 43%), rice (18%) and cashew (13%), while iron ore (114% jump) and electronics (40%), led by mobile phones, providing support. A large part of the fall in imports is attributed to lower economic activity. Economists warned of adverse impact of the coronavirus on trade in the coming months.

Former Jet chief Dube appointed GoAir CEO

GoAir has appointed Vinay Dube, former Jet Airways chief and an aviation veteran, as its CEO. While Jet stopped flying last April, Dube resigned as CEO a month later. Around the same time last year, GoAir had lost another CEO, with C Vrieswijk resigning in February 2019. Incidentally, Vrieswijk had come in place of another aviation veteran Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, who had served as Jet Airways CEO in 2009. Prock-Schauer had quit Go to join IndiGo, where he is now president-cum-COO. This makes Dube the second ex-Jet CEO to join GoAir in a similar role. After Vrieswijk’s departure, GoAir MD Jeh Wadia was looking after the CEO’s role, while former Airbus and Rolls Royce executive Miranda Mills was appointed the low cost carrier’s COO last July. GoAir has had a relatively high attrition rate for top management positions. Dube had been associated with GoAir for past few months in a consultative capacity and now his role has been formalised as CEO “for management of the airline and also for meeting long-term growth objectives of the company.”


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