Vodafone Idea slips more than 20 per cent on AGR news

Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices had previously filed modification applications on the time schedule for making payments of over Rs 1 trillion which the companies owe to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues.

On Friday, Supreme Court rejected the plea of the telecom companies for seeking new schedule of AGR payments. The companies were required to pay their AGR dues by January 23, 2020. With Vodafone Idea currently facing an extreme financial instability, the SC’s order directing the telecom companies to settle the pending AGR dues by March 17, 2020 increases the uncertainty of their operational sustainability. Since any concessions from the courts seem to be ruled out, the company’s only major source of support is a relief from the government.

On Friday, the stock of Vodafone Idea closed at Rs 3.44, down by 23.21 or Rs 1.04 per share. The 52-week high is Rs 21.32 and 52-week low is Rs 2.61 on BSE.