Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run telecom operator, has posted net profit for two straight quarters. This a big feat for the company. For years, it has been struggling to book any sort of profits in the books. But now, suddenly, for two straight quarters (Oct - December 2024 and Jan - March 2025), the company has posted a net profit.
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For Q4 of FY25, BSNL posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore compared to the Rs 849 crore loss in the same quarter last year. In Q3 FY25, BSNL posted a net profit of Rs 262 crore. So in two straight quarters, the company's total profit after taxes (PAT) stood at Rs 542 crore. Overall, in the entire year, BSNL's operating revenue stood at Rs 20,841 crore, up 7.8% YoY.
BSNL's mobility revenues grew by 6% YoY to Rs 7,499 crore in FY25. At the same time, the FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) service saw an increase of 10% YoY to Rs 2,923 crore. What helped BSNL make a difference was asset monetisation which helped the company bring in Rs 1,120 crore, up 77% YoY. This was a key difference, likely, in boosting the profits. Expenditure and finance costs for the telco went down, which is a good sign.
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One of the other things that BSNL did during the year was add new subscribers for five straight months in the middle of the FY25. This happened after the private telecom operators raised their tariffs. However, it didn't continue. After October, the subscriber losing streak of BSNL started again and will likely be that way until the company can fix its fundamentals. BSNL needs to come close to providing the network experience that users get with the private telcos. Without that, it will be hard to add quality and high-paying new customers.
