Nepal Telecom Maintains Quarterly Profits Despite COVID-19

Nepal Telecom (NTC) has maintained quarterly profits despite the COVID-19 economic setback. The government-owned telecom company has reported an increase in its revenue by 45 crores in the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2077/78.

The telecom operator released its financial details for the second quarter of 2077/78 on Feb 12. It showed the company’s healthy economic graph as compared to both, first quarter and last year same period.

The company gathered revenue of NRs. 8.63 Arba in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Whereas in the preceding fiscal year, the company had maintained revenue of NRs. 8.99 Arba in the second quarter.

Comparing the revenue by quarter, the company increased the profit amount by NRs. 45 crores, which extends the total to NRs. 9.08 Arba in profits for this fiscal year.

Check out: Nepal Telecom’s Plan for 2021: 5G, AI and More

Whereas referencing it with the same period (2nd quarter) last year, the company’s revenue increased by 9 crores.

Nepal Telecom Quarterly reports 2077/78	First quarter 2077/78	Second quarter 2077/78
Total income	8,635,340,041	9,089,573,462
Net profit	1,517,769,381	1,771,625,07९

In the first three months of the current fiscal year 2077/78, the operator amassed a net profit of NRs. 1 Arba 51.77 crores. In the second quarter, it saw the profits rise by NRs. 25.38 crores and reach NRs. 1 Arba 77.16 crores.

“Increased Revenue” A Mixed Bag!

While the quarterly reports showed a healthy picture for the telecom operator, the conclusion may be not so commendable. The company has seen its semi-annual incomes drop by 1.74%. This equates to an amount of NRs. 17.72 Arba which was NRs 18.03 Arba.

Reasons to blame for the decline

Here are the reasons that the company blame for the decline in revenue in this period.

• Covid-19 pandemic had a direct impact on the business worldwide and Nt’s telecom business is no exception.
• Due to decline in Interest rates for bank deposits, the income from such deposits dropped as compared to same period last year. They reveal that the downturn of such interest in the quarter amounts to 20 crores and 74 lakhs.
• Restrictions on travel due to pandemic also put a huge restrain to the international roaming services.
• Increased use of international calls from OTT limits the revenues out of the international interconnection charges which was a great income source for the telco before.
• Some external factors like increase in minimum wage of external manpower, higher maintenance costs and forex rates also put an impact on the company’s profit margin.

Checkout: Reasons for Decrease in Revenue of Nepali Telcos

Telecom’s Cheaper Services to Blame?

Apart from the coronavirus impact and the above mentioned reasons, Nepal Telecom also cites the low prices of the mobile data for the revenue/profit slump.

To stay in the competition, NTC offered cheaper services of mobile data packages to customers yearning for more from the government-run telecom. It also contributed to the latest mixed bag financial results.

While most of the people were confined to their homes, internet usage spiraled out of control. The reports have revealed that Nepal Telecom’s total bandwidth consumption has soared, but its income has narrowed. It is because the company has lowered its mobile data costs and extended its cheaper data services since the lockdown.

Also Read: Nepal Telecom launches 4G Wireless Home broadband service.

Nepal Telecom is Nepal’s largest telecom operator, with around 8.5% owned by public and reminder belongs to the government.

Tell us what do you think of the Ntc revenue and profit in the second quarter of 2077/78. As the COVID-19 impact abates, we can expect the telco revenue to extend further in upcoming financial reports.