Nepal Telecom's profit up 20pc

KATHMANDU:

Nepal Telecom (NT)’s net profit has posted growth of 20 per cent despite marginal rise in its income in the first half of the current fiscal year. Unaudited financial statement of the company reveals that it earned a profit of Rs 6.6 billion in the review period.

In the same period of last fiscal year 2013-14, NT had earned net profit of Rs 5.5 billion. The growth in profit this year is attributed to the decline in operation and maintenance costs, and licence and frequency fees. The company’s total earning during the review period stood at Rs 19.9 billion, which is up by 1.5 per cent compared to Rs 19.6 billion of the previous fiscal.

As per the financial statement, expenditure has come down to Rs 10.54 billion from Rs 12.2 billion in the same period last year. This is mainly because of the fall in licence fee which is Rs 32.36 million this year. In the first half last year, NT had to pay Rs 1.67 billion as licence fee. Going by the government set provision, NT has to pay Rs 2.5 billion on installment as licence renewal fee to the government by the end of each fiscal year.

Even as there is decline in overall expenditure, the company has witnessed growth in administrative work, personnel cost, interest on subscribers deposit, royalty, depreciation and contribution to the Rural Telecommunication Development Fund (RTDF). Administrative cost has increased to Rs 989.96 million from last fiscal’s Rs 873.64 million.

Similarly, NT contributed Rs 361.39 million in RTDF as against Rs 356.22 million the previous year. Telecom companies have to pay two per cent of their income as RTDF fee to Nepal Telecommunications Authority. NT, in the last fiscal, had earned a total income of Rs 39.69 billion and its net profit stood at Rs 11.55 billion.

Source: THT