Telecom stocks mixed after SC accepts fresh pleas on statutory dues

Shares of telcos' on Tuesday ended the session on a mixed note after the SC agreed to list next week's telecom firms' fresh pleas, seeking a fresh schedule of payment of statutory dues to the DoT. Shares of Vodafone Idea zoomed over 24 percent to Rs 6.04 during the day. Later, the stock shed some of its gains to settle at Rs 5.92, up 21.18 percent over the previous close on the BSE.

On the NSE, the scrip rose as much as 24.74 percent to Rs 6.05. It settled 22.68 percent up at Rs 5.95. Moreover, the spurt in volume was more than 2.16 times on the BSE and the stock has gained over 30 percent in the last three trading sessions.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel stock ended marginally up by 0.41 percent to Rs 511.35 on the BSE. On the NSE, the scrip lost 0.07 percent to close at Rs 508.35.

Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) stock settled 1.15 percent lower at Rs 2.59 on the BSE and ended flat at Rs 2.60 on the NSE. Meanwhile, shares of Reliance Industries, the parent firm of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, gained 0.13 percent to close at Rs 1,533.95 on the BSE and 0.17 percent to Rs 1,535 on the NSE.

"It is learned that telecom majors have moved the Supreme Court in a bid to delay payments that are due on January 23. This is after the Supreme Court last week rejected the pleas of telecom companies with regards to October verdict on adjusted gross revenue (AGR). "However, telecom players have got a fresh lease of life as the apex court has agreed to listen to pleas with regards to payment of statutory dues next week. In case of a negative outcome, the telecom sector will essentially move towards a duopoly kind of market benefiting Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio largely and the viability of other weaker players will be questioned amid uncertainty," said Paras Bothra, President of Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list next week the fresh pleas of telecom firms, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices, seeking a fresh schedule of payment of statutory dues to the tune of Rs 1.47 lakh crore to the Department of Telecommunications. The telcos said they wanted an open court hearing on their fresh pleas with regard to working out a fresh schedule of payment of their dues.