India’s fifth largest telecom operator Idea Cellular added 5.1 million connections in the June quarter, taking its base to 68.9 million, of which 95.9% are prepaid connections. Average revenue per user has been ground further to Rs. 182 from Rs. 185 in the March quarter and Rs. 232 in June 2009. Idea says that "Hyper-competitive market conditions caused an ~5.4% decline in the Average Realised Rate (ARR) to Rs. 0.44 per minute." Post 3G Auction, Debt Rises During the recently concluded 3G auction, Idea won spectrum in 11 of the 22 circles at Rs. 57,686 million, covering around 80% of Idea's national revenue. The 3G spectrum footprint covers all circles where Idea says it is number one, two or three in terms of revenue marketshare. Idea's net debt has increased by Rs. 45,310 million due to the payment for 3G spectrum, taking it to Rs. 96,569 million. Net worth of the company is at Rs. 116,123 million. In the December quarter, it had a net debt of Rs. 37,460 million. KPIs Average minutes of use per user (MoU) has risen to 415 minutes from 398 minutes in the March quarter quite up to expectations. Total minutes of use have steadfastly risen 13% quarter on quarter to 82, 274 million minutes. Details: Quarterly Report | Financials | Release Financials The sequential drop in EBITDA margins has been explained by the company as due to two primary reasons, both not on the operational side: provision of higher spectrum charges pending the TDSAT…
