NT’s profit drops marginally, earns Rs. 2.22 B in first quarter

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Nov. 18: Net profit of state-owned telecom company - Nepal Telecom (NT) - has decreased during the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2022/23.

Net profit of NT has declined by 1.52 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last fiscal year, according to a press statement of the NT.

The company has earned a net profit of Rs. 2.22 billion in the review period of the current fiscal year 2022/23 while it had earned a net profit of Rs. 2.25 billion in the first quarter of the last fiscal year 2021/22.

The profit of the Company has been under pressure due to the impact on the revenue caused by the changes in the telecommunication service charge from the Economic Act, 2079 and the impact on the country's economic situation due to the global economic recession and various other reasons, COVID-19, said the NT.

Meanwhile, the operating income of the Company has decreased by 7.14 per cent during the review period.

The operating income of the NT stood at Rs. 9.07 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year while it was Rs. 9.77 billion during the same period a year ago.

The NT was able to collect revenue of Rs. 11.04 billion by providing service during the review period which is 0.80 per cent higher than the same period last year. 

Total income of the NT was Rs. 10.95 billion during the first quarter of the last fiscal year 2021/22.

Since the current fiscal year, due to the increase in the salary benefits of the employees, the employee expenses have also hit net profit.

According to the interconnection guidelines, the domestic interconnection fee has decreased and the interconnection income has decreased by around Rs. 100 million due to the increased use of OTT services.

According to NT, the overall income of the voice service has decreased due to the increased use of the service by OTT.

The Company said that due to the adverse effects of the weather, the power supply and maintenance work could not be done on time, so the sites could not be operated timely. Likewise, the non-operating income of the Company has increased.

Due to the change in the bank interest rate, the interest income of the Company has increased by about Rs. 790 million.

Owing to change in the foreign exchange rate, there is a foreign exchange gain of around Rs. 70 million, the Company said.