PTCL posts Rs1.606bln profit in Q12021

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) posted a net profit of Rs1.606 billion during the quarter ended March 31, 2021, showing seven percent growth in revenues for the first time since Q1 of 2014, a statement said.

The company posted a loss of Rs406.724 million during the same period last year.

The company did not announce any cash dividend. “The significant growth in revenues was mainly driven by strong performance in consumer segment and continued growth momentum in business services that supported PTCL in posting seven percent growth in revenues for the first time since Q1 of 2014. This was achieved despite the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” the statement said.

The group posted revenue of Rs 33.9 billion in Q12021, 6.7 percent higher as compared to the same period of last year, which was mainly contributed by PTCL and U Bank. U Bank continued its growth momentum and has achieved a 26.5 percent growth in its quarterly revenue over the same period of last year.

PTML’s (Ufone) revenue remained stable despite stiff competition in the cellular market. The group also successfully conducted 5G trial in a limited environment showcasing a remote surgery test case for the first time in Pakistan.

PTCL’s fixed broadband business grew by 12.3 percent YoY, whereas PTCL IPTV segment also grew by 11.1 percent YoY. Moreover, Universal Service Fund (USF) awarded two contracts to PTCL worth Rs3 billion for the provision of fibre optic cable in interior Sindh to connect the underserved areas.

The company said its corporate and wholesale businesses continued their growth trajectory proving its market leadership in IP bandwidth, cloud, data centre and other ICT services segments.

PTCL’s corporate business grew by 11.9 percent as compared to the same period last year. Also, carrier business continued its growth momentum and achieved 13.5 percent overall revenue growth YoY. “International revenue has declined by seven percent, as compared to the same period last year mainly due to lower voice traffic and appreciation of rupee against dollar,” it noted.