Kathmandu. Nepal Telecommunication Company Limited (Nepal Telecom) has significantly increased its profit in the last quarter of the fiscal year 2082/83. According to the unrevised financial details of Nepal Telecom, the company has earned a profit of Rs 4.20 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year. In the third quarter, the company earned a profit of Rs 3.14 billion, which increased its profit by Rs 1.05 billion in the fourth quarter alone.

The number of internet users has increased significantly with the government giving priority to increasing the access and quality of Nepal Telecom. The 100 agendas related to governance reforms and the 10-point reform action plan under the government management system based on the results prepared by the Ministry of Information and Communications had given priority to the improvement of the service of Nepal Telecom. The government’s efforts to improve are also reflected in the financial health of the company.

According to Nepal Telecom’s spokesperson Kamal Lamichhane, the increase in fiber to the home (FTTH) and GSM data consumption has contributed to the increase in revenue of the company. “Lately, data consumption has increased more than voice. The operating expenses of the company have also decreased compared to the previous year. Overall profit has increased due to increase in income and decrease in expenditure,” he said. Nepal Telecom has also made significant savings through the reduction in advertisement, sponsorship and other expenses. Minister for Information and Communications Dr Bikram Timilsina has been directing the Telecom to work in a frugal and transparent manner as per the government’s policy of reducing unnecessary expenditure. According to the report, Nepal Telecom has saved around Rs 100 million to Rs 15 crore in the last fiscal year by deducting expenses under the headings including advertisement and sponsorship. The service operation and maintenance cost has decreased while the amount to be paid to the regulator has decreased as compared to the previous fiscal year, according to the data of Telecom.

Nepal Telecom had earned a profit of Rs 1.22 billion in the last quarter of the previous fiscal year 2081/82. That is, Nepal Telecom has increased its profit by about three billion rupees compared to the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year. This is profit before tax.

During this period, there has been a significant increase in the total income of Telecom. Nepal Telecom has earned Rs 10.34 billion in total income from mid-April to mid-July 2018. This is an increase of Rs 588 million compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. In the last quarter of the fiscal year 2081/82, Nepal Telecom earned a total of Rs 9.75 billion.

Annual net profit of about nine billion

Nepal Telecom has earned a net profit of Rs 8.86 billion in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year 2082/83. According to the company’s net profit increased by Rs 2.85 billion or 47.58 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous FY. In the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year 2081/82, the net profit of the company was Rs. 6.67 billion. The company’s net profit has increased significantly in the last one year.

According to the company, profit before tax has also increased significantly in the review period. In the fourth quarter of the last FY, the profit before tax was Rs 13.26 billion. Such profit had crossed Rs. 9.85 billion in the corresponding period of the previous FY. On this basis, the profit before tax increased by Rs 3.41 billion or 34.66 percent.

Similarly, the company’s income before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization has reached Rs 20.48 billion. Such income increased by 10.73 percent to Rs 1.98 billion compared to Rs 18.49 billion in the corresponding period of the previous FY.

In the review period, the total operating income of Nepal Telecom reached Rs 34.95 billion. Such income had been Rs. 33.89 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous FY. Compared to the previous year, the operating income increased by Rs 1.05 billion or 3.12 percent.

The total income of the company has also increased. Total income in the review period stood at Rs 39.19 billion. The total income in the same period of the previous fiscal year was Rs. 38.18 billion. Accordingly, the total income increased by Rs 1.01 billion or 2.65 percent. The company has EPS of Rs 49.25 per share.

Profit increases even as interest income decreases

According to the company, interest income has decreased due to the gradual decline in interest rates during the review period. Compared to the fourth quarter of the previous FY, interest income decreased by about Rs 861.9 million or 22.88 percent in the same period of the previous FY.

However, the increase in revenue from the main telecom services has had a positive impact on the overall operating income and profit. In particular, the revenue of GSM services has increased. According to the company, the revenue from the GSM service increased by Rs 645.4 million or 2.28 percent in the fourth quarter of the previous FY.

Government efforts to reform NTC

After the formation of the new government, important works have been done in the improvement of Nepal Telecom and the overall telecommunication service. The issue of Nepal Telecom reform was also put forward in 100 agendas related to governance reforms and 10-point corrective action plan under the government management system based on the results forwarded by the Ministry of Information and Communications. According to this, after the data package of the users of Nepal Telecom is exhausted, the situation of automatically deducting the balance has ended, and the work of making all the services online and implementing ‘One Time KYC’ has been completed. With the implementation of ‘pay-as-you-go’ system, customers can choose to either deduct the rate automatically or purchase a new package once their data runs out.

The government had initiated a process of transformation in Nepal Telecom with the objective of mobile data management, digital platform expansion and simplifying administrative processes. Services like e-SIM delivery, complaint management, lost SIM recovery and ownership transfer are now available completely online. To increase the citizen’s access and ease to telecommunication services, ‘one-stop service’ help desks have been set up at the Telecom office. This has made it easy for the customers to get all the services from one place. Important policy initiatives have also been taken to improve the quality of 4G services. Additional frequencies have been made available to increase the access and quality of 4G services.