Vodafone has drawn up ambitious plans to invest 700 million pound ( about Rs 7,100 crore) in India during the next 2- 3 years mainly on rolling out 3G networks.
This amount will be in addition to Rs 4,000- Rs 6,000 crore annual investments the company has been making in recent years, Vodafone India CEO Marten Pieters said on Tuesday.
The investment will be part of the cash- rich British company's Project Spring under which the Vodafone Group will invest 7 billion pound by March 2016, to establish stronger network and service differentiation in major global markets.
"The Indian investment is about 10 per cent of pound 7 billion in the next 2- 3 years. It depends also on what is available. The investment will be above the normal level of investment we would have done so it's like a catch up investment," Pieters said.
Riding on a strong growth in data usage and voice calls, Vodafone India said it has posted 13.5 per cent jump in revenue at Rs 20,476.3 crore for the first half ( April- September period) of 2012- 13.
The company had logged Rs 17,581.3 crore in revenue during the same period in the last fiscal.
Pieters said, India has become the third largest contributor to the UK- based Vodafone Group's services revenues.
" We are also focused on growing the use of mobile Internet. Our data continues to contribute strongly to business, accounts for 9 per cent of service revenue in Q2, 2013- 14 fiscal," said Pieters.
He said most of the subscribers in India would use Internet via mobile phones but the company doesn't have 3G spectrum in all the circles.
"We will try to get spectrum in all the circles next year. We count on pending approval for spectrum trading and the fresh 2100 Mhz auction in 2014," he pointed out.
On revenue growth, he said it is driven by hardening of rates, exponential growth in data and good subscriber base. "These, however, were partially offset by the effect of seasonality and regulatory changes," he added.
"The service revenue has grown 13.5 per cent to Rs 18,481 crore during the 6- month period from Rs 16,282.6 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, but our data revenue has grown much faster at 76.5 per cent. The data growth has been driven by high smartphones usage, he added.
Vodafone India's operating profit or EBITDA ( earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) improved by 30.6 per cent to Rs 6,519.1 crore in H1, 2013- 14, compared to Rs 4,993 crore in the same period of last fiscal.
Pieters said the environment in the country is more positive these days as the regulatory clarity is emerging. However, at the same time he pointed out that that all is still not fine on the regulatory front.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Group chief Vittorio Colao at a meeting in London on Tuesday said the company will only consider an IPO in India once the $ 2- billion tax dispute is resolved.
"We don't have to do it… because we don't need the money. We need to resolve the tax issue first," said Colao.
Colao added that there was " no real change" to discussions on the tax dispute. " We have had talks and continue to have talks. It's complicated and honestly, we have to see where it goes."
Vodafone posted a 13.5% jump in revenue at Rs 20,476.3 cr for the first half of 2012- 13.