February 28, 2008	Thursday	Safar 20, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 27: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) reported on Wednesday a net loss of Rs9.54 billion in the first half of current fiscal year.

PTCL, in which UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) has a 26 per cent controlling stake, earned a net profit of Rs8.37 billion in the year ago period.

“The key reason for the loss is the rise in operating costs which could be on account of the restructuring cost whereby PTCL has laid off about 45 to 50 per cent of their workforce,” said Asif Qureshi, head of research at Invisor Securities Ltd.However, analysts said the restructuring would result in better earnings in future.

PTCL’s operating costs rose to Rs45.53 billion in the half year that ended on Dec. 31, compared with Rs22.6 billion in the same period last year.

Company’s revenue also fell to Rs29 billion compared with Rs32.74 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Analysts said that was due to increased competition, as rivals, including wireless players such as Worldcall and Telecard had eaten into PTCL’s call traffic and forced it to cut charges.

The result was below a net profit forecast range of Rs5.4 billion to Rs6.4 billion estimated by five analysts surveyed by Reuters.