New Delhi, Nov. 12 -- Vodafone Idea Ltd, India's third-largest telecom operator, on Thursday reported a weaker-than-expected earnings performance in the September quarter.

The Mumbai-headquartered company's net loss expanded to Rs.5,975 crore from Rs.5,562 crore a year ago, missing Bloomberg's estimate of Rs.5,263 crore. In the June quarter, the company reported a net loss of Rs.3,754 crore on higher expenses and low revenue growth.

The losses widened in the quarter owing to an exceptional loss of Rs.462 crore, compared with a Rs.1,816 crore gain in the previous quarter from the fair-value adjustment of equity shares to be settled with the promoter entity, Vodafone Plc.

As of September-end, the fair market value of such earmarked share...