State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reported a significant increase in consolidated losses for the fiscal year 2022-23. The losses have widened to Rs 8,161 crore compared to Rs 6,982 crore in the previous year. This surge in losses can be attributed to the provision made for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government, according to a Financial Express report.
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During the year, BSNL made a provision of Rs 17,688 crore towards AGR dues and received viability gap funding worth Rs 16,189 crore. Consequently, the company recorded an exceptional loss of Rs 1,499 crore, contributing to the overall increase in net losses.
BSNL's total expenses also saw a rise of 5.1 percent to Rs 27,364 crore. Notably, the employee cost, which includes salaries, wages, allowances, and other benefits, amounted to Rs 7,952 crore, reflecting an 11 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
On the positive side, BSNL managed to surpass the revenue target set by the government and achieved a 14 percent growth in revenue from operations. In FY23, the company's revenue from operations amounted to Rs 19,130 crore, compared to Rs 16,811 crore in FY22, as indicated by the company's financial statements, according to the report.
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The growth in revenue was primarily driven by the success of BSNL's fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), leased line businesses, and other operating income. Mobile services, which contribute 29 percent to BSNL's revenue, witnessed a 7 percent year-on-year increase at Rs 5,638 crore in FY23. The revenue from the FTTH business also showed substantial growth, reaching Rs 2,071 crore, a 30 percent increase.
Looking ahead, the government has set a revenue target of Rs 20,008 crore for BSNL in FY24, with subsequent targets of Rs 24,428 crore for FY25 and Rs 28,476 crore for FY26.
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However, BSNL faced challenges in certain circles. For example, Kerala, which is traditionally one of the highest revenue-generating circles for the company, experienced a decline in revenue by nearly 2 percent to Rs 1,656 crore in FY23. Similarly, other circles such as Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Andaman and Nicobar, UP (West), Gujarat, Chennai, and Telangana also witnessed a fall in revenue.
To address these challenges and drive revenue growth, BSNL's focus is on expanding its FTTH and enterprise business. Additionally, the company plans to deploy its 4G network in select circles, which will help boost its mobile services segment. BSNL has already initiated the pilot deployment of the 4G network in three districts of Punjab. BSNL 4G Network is already available in a few places across circles on a limited scale.
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BSNL's wireless subscriber base stood at 103.58 million as of March-end, which is the lowest among all four operational telecom operators. The company has seen a decline of nearly 11 million subscribers over the past 15 months.
