BSNL rings in profit with cuts in administrative cost

GN Bureau | November 18, 2015


#BSNL   #PSU  

Reversing in the welcome trend, state-run BSNL has reported an operating profit of Rs 672 crore for the financial year 2015. This has been achieved due to fall in administrative costs and jump in revenues.

The company had posted an operating loss of Rs 691 crore in the previous fiscal.

BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava said income from services increased by 4.16 per cent to Rs 27,242 crore in 2014-15, which is highest in comparison to the previous five years. Income from services stood at Rs 26,153 crore in 2013-14.

"BSNL had bad results for the last few years, but in year 2014-15, it has been able to reverse the trend. Also it is a known fact that most of the telecom majors are having heavy debt burdens but it still continues to be relatively better, showing a low debt-equity ratio," Shrivastava said.

He added the debt equity ratio of BSNL is around 0.13 per cent, which is lowest in the industry. Shrivastava said BSNL is making relentless efforts to revive itself.  BSNL will be investing Rs 7,700 crore in the current financial year to expand network.

The company also plans to launch 4G LTE services on 2600 MHz band in a couple of cities by the end of March. It has taken various customer centric initiatives such as free night calling, free roaming and providing a minimum broadband speed of 2 Mbps.

Shrivastava said in 2006, BSNL was the number one operator in mobile and landline services as it was able to expand its network but during 2006-2012, it was not able to procure equipment, which led to its downfall. "The market expanded rapidly during this period and we failed to expand our network because of non procurement of equipment and we missed the voice opportunity," he said.

Shrivastava though added that these days, data is growing rapidly and they are investing heavily for data.

"BSNL is focussing on data. Currently 10 per cent of the revenue is coming from mobile data," he said. The CMD further said BSNL has started to monetise its towers by entering into agreements with other operators and there is 42 per cent increase in tower business.

 "A tower subsidiary will be created as the Cabinet has already cleared the proposal for that," he said.

 The net loss of BSNL though increased to Rs 8,234 crore for the reported fiscal compared with Rs 7,020 crore last year, mainly on account of asset depreciation calculated as per the Companies Act. The loss could have come down to Rs 5,370 crore if the company would have calculated its asset depreciation as per the old Act.

Comments

 

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter