KARACHI: The Pakistani subsidiary of Telenor did not let its parent company down when it announced its annual financial results for 2010, as it was able to switch from loss to profit.
The highlight of the report, according to Invest and Finance Securities telecom analyst Ayub Ansari, was that the company went from an operating loss of Rs3.46 billion in 2009 to an operating profit of Rs28.21 million in 2010.
During the fourth quarter of 2010, the company managed to increase subscriptions by 856,000, claiming that it increased its subscription market share by one percentage point to 24 per cent. Additionally, the company’s average revenue per user (ARPU) remained stable.
Telenor Pakistan’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margin decreased by one percentage point and the company said it was due to a ‘one-time adjustment of revenues and operating expenses that more than offset the increased revenues.’
The company’s total revenues went up to Rs65.63 billion in 2010 from Rs56.42 billion in the preceding year but capital expenditure declined from Rs17.2 billion to Rs8.7 billion. Ansari said that the cellular market had reached its saturation point which led to declines in capital expenditure of the entire industry.
Regional partners do better
In Bangladesh, Telenor subsidiary Grameenphone increased its subscriptions by more than Pakistan, adding 1.3 million customers during the fourth quarter. However, the company’s subscription market share remained at 44 per cent. Interestingly, the ARPU in local currency decreased by 9 per cent due to the dilution effect of new subscriptions acquired from the lower revenue generating segment. Revenues, though, increased by 17 per cent due to increased subscription and traffic.
In India, Telenor subsidiary Uninor increased its subscriptions by the highest number, gaining 4.3 million subscriptions during the quarter. The ARPU increased slightly, as a result of higher usage per subscription. Uninor also increased its total revenues by 87 per cent compared with the third quarter of the year.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9
Correction: February 12, 2011
Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this report stated incorrect figures.
Operating loss was stated to be Rs20.58 million, while it was Rs3.46 billion.
Operating profit was stated to be Rs141,800, while it was Rs28.21 million in 2010.
The company's total revenues went up to Rs65.63 billion in 2010 from Rs56.42 billion, this was previously incorrectly stated as revenue went down to Rs329.9 million in 2010 from Rs335.4 million.
Capital expenditure had declined from Rs17.2 billion to Rs8.7 billion, this was previously incorrectly stated as declining from Rs102.15 million to Rs43.74 million
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