INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kolkata: The beleaguered telecom industry is likely to recover its stride by way of a modest pricing increase in FY20, which in turn is
improvements with (industry) revenues estimated to grow by 6% on-year and operating income or Ebitda by 20% on-year in FY20, driven by
Harsh Jagnani, sector head VP, Corporate Ratings, ICRA, said in a media statement Monday.
Trends of the last few months, he said, signal
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea -- looking for triggers of upward movement by recently implementing minimum recharge plans.
Jagnani,
to him, telecom industry revenues, which declined by 11% in FY18 to Rs 2.1 lakh-crore, is estimated to further decline by 7% in FY19
The anticipated deleveraging, if it materialises, can improve the interest coverage to 1.4x and debt/EBITDA to 8x as on March 31, 2020, it
added.
However, ICRA estimates the debt metrics of the telecom industry to remain weak "with interest coverage of 1.1x and debt/EBITDA of
in the range of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore per year
Further, it expects the return of auctioned spectrum by exiting telcos to result in an annual Rs 1,100 crore reduction in deferred spectrum
payouts to the government.
