Anil Ambani resigns from Reliance Communications, five other directors also step down
This came a day after the firm reported consolidated net loss of Rs 30,158 crore – the second-highest quarterly loss posted by an Indian company.
Reliance Communications Chairperson Anil Ambani resigned from the company on Saturday, the firm said in a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. Five other directors – Chhaya Virani, Ryna Karani, Manjari Kacker, Manikantan V and Suresh Rangachar – also quit. Manikantan V has also stepped down as the company’s chief financial officer.
While Ambani, Virani and Kacker resigned on November 15, Karani resigned the day before, Rangachar on November 13 and Manikantan V on November 4, said Reliance Communications.
The company has appointed D Vishwanath as executive director and chief financial officer. However, the appointment is subject to approval by the Committee of Creditors as the company has been brought under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, or CIRP.
A company’s financial and operational creditors can initiate the insolvency process by submitting an application to the National Company Law Tribunal under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act, 2016. The debtor, that is the firm itself, can also make the application. In February, Reliance Communications had filed for bankruptcy after failing to sell its assets to pay off debt.
On Friday, Reliance Communications posted consolidated net loss of Rs 30,158 crore in the July to September quarter. It is the second-highest quarterly loss posted by an Indian company till date, The Times of India reported. The company lost Rs 366 crore in the same period last year.
Reliance Communications’ huge net loss is the result of Rs 28,314 crore being set aside as provisions for liabilities following an adverse Supreme Court judgement last month that upheld the Centre’s broader definition of revenue. The government calculates levies on telecom operators on the basis of this definition. In its order, the top court excluded revenue from non-core telecom operations such as rent, dividend and interest income in the reporting of financial results. The court rejected the definition of adjusted gross revenue that telecom operators had proposed.
Telecommunications services companies Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel on Thursday posted massive net losses of Rs 50,922 crore and Rs 23,045 crore for the July to September quarter. Vodafone Idea’s net loss is the biggest quarterly loss in the history of India Inc.