Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, the leading telecom and ICT services providers in the country, has announced financial results for the nine months ended September. In the first nine months of 2023, PTCL Group has maintained its strong performance, strengthening its status as Pakistan’s top integrated telecom service provider. Despite the challenging economic environment, the Group has achieved an impressive 26.3% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year. This substantial growth can be mainly attributed to outstanding performance in various sectors, including fixed broadband, mobile data, business solutions, and mobile banking services.
The business environment in 2023 remains affected by the unfavorable macroeconomic challenges that emerged in 2022. Increasing energy and fuel costs persist as hurdles for telecom companies, making it challenging to offer top-notch services to consumers at reasonable rates. Network expansion plans were also affected by the adoption of measures aimed at regulating foreign currency reserves. The substantial devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee during the first quarter, coupled with mounting interest rates and an additional super tax alongside regular corporate tax, has significantly affected profitability. To address the challenges being faced by the telecom sector, it is imperative that the government offers policy intervention to alleviate the impact.
PTCL Fixed Broadband Business achieved significant revenue growth of 16.7% vs. last year. PTCL Flash Fiber remains the fastest-growing operator through the highest net adds contribution in the industry. This phenomenal growth has been possible through the aggressive expansion of PTCL Flash Fiber and dedicated customer experience throughout the country. PTCL Flash Fiber reported 104.9% revenue growth YoY. Moreover, IPTV segment has been further equipped with the addition of 50 channels reaching a total of 200 channels to cater growing customer TV viewing needs. Voice and Charji revenue streams continued the declining trajectory impacted by OTT services and competition from cellular operators.
PTCL Business Services:
The business services segment continued its momentum sustaining market leadership in IP bandwidth, Cloud, Data Center, and other ICT services segments. PTCL’s enterprise business grew by 31.8% as compared to last year, while carrier and wholesale business continued its growth momentum and achieved 29.2% overall revenue growth. International voice revenue has increased by 17.9% as compared to last year. Despite the current challenging economic environment, overall Business Solutions revenue has shown a remarkable 27% year-on-year growth.
Ufone 4G Highlights:
Ufone 4G for the first time in history has crossed a milestone mark of 25 million subscribers in Q3’23 and reported a 24.3% YoY revenue increase. Ufone 4G posted the highest net adds in the industry and led the industry in 4G acquisitions during the quarter. Our 4G base crossed the mark of 14 million for the first time in Sep’23.
Ubank Highlights:
Ubank, microfinance and branchless banking subsidiary of PTCL, continued its growth trajectory and has achieved a remarkable 80.3% growth in revenue over the corresponding period of last year, while maintaining a strong balance sheet position.
