KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) announced on Wednesday its consolidated after-tax profit edged lower by 2.2 per cent to Rs3.09 billion in the first half of 2016 compared to Rs3.16bn a year ago. Earnings per share fell to 61 paise from 62.

The board also announced an interim cash dividend of Re1 per share.

The company’s consolidated revenues declined 3.3pc year-on-year to Rs59bn and gross margins dropped by 67 basis points to 27.9pc. Bottom line was supported by a 39pc year-on-year increase in other income to Rs3.7bn due to recovery of Rs1.2bn from defaulters, which had been written off (one-time inflow).

During the second quarter (April to June), PTCL’s consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs1.3bn, translating into earnings per share of 26 paise.

The earnings represented a decline of 46pc over the same period of the previous year. The results were thought to be in line with market expectations.

PTCL’s consolidated revenues for the second quarter fell 4pc year-on-year to Rs29.6bn, which the market watchers attributed to the company’s core business segments which remained flat.

As of May, the number of evolution data optimized (EvDO) subscribers fell 8pc to 1.2 million while those of digital subscriber line (DSL) remained almost stagnant at 1.4m. Moreover, fixed line and wireless local loop (WLL) segments also remained confined due to the proliferation of mobile broadband.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2016