Nepal Telecom held its 12th AGM; decides for Rs 45 dividend per share

Nepal Telecom, the company with the largest market capitalization in Nepalese stock, has held its 12th AGM on Poush 29, 2076. Ntc AGM also decided to provide Rs 45 cash dividend per share. Shareholders, employees, trade union activists and Nepal Telecom board of directors are present in the program.

AGM decision

As per the Nepal Telecom’s official statement, the AGM held at Tribhuvan Army Officer’s club had the presence of 92% shareholders. The meeting also approved the financial audit report of Fiscal year 2075/76 as submitted by the auditor and closed all of the profit, loss accounts for that FY.

Then the meeting also appointed Charter Accountants Mr. Prakash Jung Thapa and Mr. Achyut Raj Joshi as the auditor of the Company for the year 2076/77. This appointment is based on the recommendation of the office of the Auditor General (OAG, Nepal).

Chairman’s Report

At first, the Company’s Chairman and MoCIT secretary Mr. Dipak Subedi welcomed the shareholders gathering and put forward his report on the board’s initiative on maximizing shareholder’s benefit. He even pointed out the major achievements in the last fiscal year in making the company healthier and leading in the market.

Here are some of the points in his report.

• Reaching out to all the nooks and corners for the communication service requirement. Which reduced the digital divide and ensure digital inclusion in the country.
• Infrastructure development in all parts of the country.
• Being a responsible company, contributed as a part of Corporate Social responsibility, and Good Governance.
• Submitted Rs 33.31 billion to Nepal Government’s revenue which is beyond taxes.
• Market leader in the telecommunication industry by increasing the data segment by 4.75% to 48.41 % share and growth of voice segment by 3.93% to 54.83% share.
• Commitment to increasing the quality of service and easy availability for market penetration and business objectives of the company.
• The environment was not favorable due to the OTT, decreased cost of service, added telecom service charge. So, they could make Rs 43.84 billion revenue and Rs 9.76 billion net profit.
• 4G LTE service expansion with coverage to more than 1600 locations of 65+ districts.
• Triple play service (Voice, Video, and internet) over FTTH fiber internet in 25 districts.
• More Value-added services and international roaming in postpaid and prepaid.

As there was a huge fall in the profit of the company, they could only distribute Rs 45 dividend to the shareholders. Comparing this to last year’s Rs 55, almost all expressed their dissatisfaction and their doubt on the company’s performance for the upcoming year. Some including trade union activists and financial experts recommended ways to tackle the situation to keep them ahead in the market.

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Nepal Telecom MD answer

Ntc MD Mr. Dilli Ram Adhikari tried to answer all of the comments as per the following points.

• The revenue decline in Telcos due to OTT is a global phenomenon and Nepal is no exception. He expressed that them have been using some measures to compensate for the loss.
• As NT is not investing more on CDMA, they are going to shut down this service from which the revenue is low.
• Ntc is also collaborating with Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) to form a subsidiary company for Mobile money service. They are now seeking approval from Nepal Rastra Bank for the initiation.
• The installment payment of 20 billion license fees and the additional company tax also troubles the profit sheet of the company.
• Company restructuring is underway and employee rules, bylaws are already in the transit to Public Service Commission (Lok Sewa) for approval.
• Migration of copper wires/ADSL by optical fiber for Internet, telephone and video service.
• More rural areas with Nepal Telecom mobile coverage in the FY 2075/76. They could operate 938 new mobile towers in such areas in that year.
• Agreement with NTA for the use of RTDF to build Mid Hill information highway.
• As the company is now investing heavily in technology like 4G and FTTH, the overall health of the company along with the availability of the affordable service will improve meeting customer demand.
• Accepting all the shareholder’s genuine remarks and try to put it to actions, plans.

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The meeting concluded with the decision of dividend and the auditor’s appointment. The dividend shall deposit to the customer’s account via NMB bank after Magh 1, 2076.