Is Vodafone Idea India’s best penny stock?

In March, India’s second richest man bought Rs 10 crore worth of the stock at Rs 3.15 a share—it now trades at thrice that.

T Surendar

Mumbai

13 July 2020

UNLOCK NOW!

It should be an open-and-shut case. Vodafone Idea Ltd, India’s third-largest mobile telephony provider, was the market leader two years ago. It ended the last fiscal year, 2019-20, with a loss of Rs 73,131 crore, the biggest ever in Indian corporate history. Its long-term debt is just over Rs 100,000 crore and it has had to postpone payment to vendors in the last two months. It also owes the government in back dues to the tune of Rs 51,000 crore and the Supreme Court of India wants it to do so soon.

Amid all this, the company is slowly losing its customers to rivals; it lost 19 million in the last reported quarter. With strong competitors still attracting its customers, there shouldn’t be any hope for its survival.

All this was evident late last year, when its share price sank to Rs 2.40 and its market value crashed to a mere Rs 6,896 crore, for a company with 300 million customers and a functioning telecom network. In December, two months after the Supreme Court

What our readers say

Why subscribers love The Morning Context

High quality, independent journalism is rare to find. The Morning Context set really high standards that make me wait for each story.

Abhay Pandey, Managing partner, A91 Capital

Well-written and researched long form reads on a wide variety of topics and a team of veteran journalists - all of this makes my subscription worth it.

Anupam Gupta, Investment research consultant

In today's very noisy and cluttered world, I like that the Morning Context goes below the surface of company PR to deliver fact-based stories on Indian business.

Jessie Paul, CEO, Paul Writer

The Morning Context is my daily opportunity to get smarter about one new company/sector. Discerning analysis, unbiased and approachable.

Miten Sampat, Angel investor & former CSO, Times Internet

In today's polarized world, authentic and unbiased facts are in short supply world over. The Morning Context is a refreshing approach towards truthful, well researched, fearless, and high-quality articles on contemporary topics.

N S Parthasarthy, Co-founder, Mindtree

As one of the early subscribers, I've had the opportunity to witness how quickly the team has grown, the variety of angles covered, and the research in every in-depth story and op-ed.

Amarjit Batra, Managing director, Spotify India

In a world full of noise, The Morning Context is the calm that stimulates and energises your mind, with stories focused on fact, truth and dogged reportage.

Nikhil Taneja, Co-founder and CEO, Yuvaa

Although it’s a paid subscription, the kind of detailed research and quality of reportage makes it worth every rupee. It’s strength surely lies in having some of the finest journalists writing for it.

Shiladitya Bora, Producer, distributor and founder at Platoon One Films

Become a TMC member