NT's service income grows mere 0.1pc
KATHMANDU:
Growth rate of Nepal Telecom (NT)’s earnings from ‘other’ income sources surged by 7.26 per cent, while the growth rate of ‘service’ income stood at mere 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of current fiscal year.
The state-owned telecom utility’s first quarter financial report shows that it earned Rs 60.5 million more under other income category while income from services went up by Rs 6.56 million when compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Other income sources of NT include interest on corporate bonds and debentures, pension fund and bank deposits. In the first quarter, NT managed to earn a total of Rs 10.09 billion, up from Rs 10.03 billion during corresponding period last fiscal.
An official at the NT said that income from services declined owing to competition in both voice and data services in the market. “Even as there was rise in the user base, we were forced to slash service charges owing to increased competition,” the official added. The company has over half a dozen voice and data services based on different technologies.
For increased competition in the market, NT for long has also been planning to divest its share to a strategic partner and invest in other profitable areas. NT has investment in hydropower projects — Upper Tamakoshi and Trishuli 3B.
Meanwhile, with decline in expenses including in licence and spectrum fees, the company earned net profit of Rs 3.23 billion. “The net profit of the company went up in the first quarter due to reduction in expenses,” Pravita Baidya, deputy spokesperson of NT, informed.
The profit that NT booked is up by 31.83 per cent compared to Rs 2.45 billion earned in the same period last year. The company spent Rs 16.18 million for licence fee against Rs one billion in the same period last year, as per the financial report.
Similarly, there was decline in spectrum fee to Rs 208.36 million, against Rs 249.61 million the previous year. NT, as provisioned by the government, has to pay Rs 2.5 billion as licence fee by the end of each fiscal year to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority — the telecom regulator — for eight years to clear Rs 20 billion renewal licence fee.
The total expenditure for the quarter stood at Rs 5.76 billion against Rs 6.62 billion of the same period of last fiscal year. However, total revenue grew by only 0.5 per cent, according to the unaudited financial report of this year’s first quarter.
Rapid development in technology, competition in the market and call bypass are some of the challenges facing the company. In the whole of last fiscal, NT had earned Rs 39.26 billion in revenue and Rs 11.68 billion in profit.
Source: THT
