KATHMANDU, AUGUST 16
Nepal Telecom (NT) has witnessed a decline in its annual profit from services by 7.86 per cent owing to an increase in expenses directly related to service operations.
The unaudited financial report of the telecom company of the last fiscal year 2022-23 shows that it earned a profit of Rs 7.80 billion. The state-owned company's annual profit during the fiscal year 2021-22 was Rs 8.47 billion from services.
The company has attributed the drop in profit to various factors. The expansion of 4G services led to a rise in users opting for cheaper data packs and increased use of OTT services, resulting in a tariff revenue decrease of approximately Rs 683 million. Adverse weather conditions affected electricity supply and maintenance operations, further impacting profit.
Additionally, changes in the Finance Act of 2022-23 contributed to a relative decrease in revenue due to communication service fees. Implementation of capacity enhancement programmes and salary increment of employees also impacted the company's profit through an increase in retirement benefit provisioning.
Moreover, infrastructure development, expansion, maintenance, relocation, and government-related works affected the company's network expansion and overall profitability.
During the same period, NT experienced an increase in the usage of roaming services, resulting in a growth of Rs 220 million compared to the previous year. Additionally, fluctuations in bank interest rates led to a financial revenue increase of approximately Rs 1.85 billion, and foreign exchange rate changes contributed to a foreign exchange gain of Rs 222 million.
In the preceding fiscal year, the company's overall income had witnessed a growth of 1.11 per cent, reaching Rs 44.86 billion. Similarly, the total operating income for the review period decreased by 2.94 per cent to Rs 36.91 billion
A version of this article appears in the print on August 17, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
