KARACHI, Oct 28: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2005-06 posted a profit after tax of Rs5.5 billion as compared to Rs6.3 billion during the same period last year, showing a decline of 12.69 per cent.
A press release of the company on Friday said un-audited accounts of PTCL for the first quarter ending September 30, 2005 were approved by the board of directors of the company in a meeting held here on Thursday.
Total revenue for the first quarter (July-September 2005) was Rs17.7 billion as compared to Rs18.2 billion in the same period last year. Domestic revenue increased by 10.5 per cent or Rs1.5 billion to Rs15.9 billion in July-September this year from Rs14.3 billion in the same period last year. International revenue, however, declined by 51.7 per cent owing to a reduction in the average settlement rate and provision for contribution to the Universal Service Fund, or international revenue for traffic terminated on mobile networks.
The impact was further aggravated, as international incoming traffic decreased by 37 per cent because of new long distance international (LDI) operators and mobile operators carrying their own international traffic.
The operating expenses increased by 7.8 per cent as compared to the expenses in the same period last year. This raise was mainly due to a sizeable increase in employee-related cost and increased WLL marketing cost.
Effective July 1, the new salary package agreed with workers on the eve of PTCL privatization bid in June 2005 came into effect with consequential adverse impact on retirement and other costs.
Profit after tax in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which decreased by Rs0.8 billion, resulted in slashing earning per share to Rs1.08 as compared to Rs1.23 in the correspondent quarter last year.
However, PTCL subsidiaries have shown an improved performance as compared to the first quarter last year.
Pakistan Telecommunication Mobile Limited (PTML-Ufone), PTCL’s 100 per cent owned subsidiary, earned a profit of Rs389 million. Telecommunication Industry Pakistan (TIP) also made a marginal profit against a loss of Rs8 million in the first quarter last year.
PTCL Group’s total profit after tax stood at Rs5.9 billion (earning per share Rs1.16) — four per cent less that the profit earned in the first quarter last year.—-PPI
