MTNL’s financial woes seem to take a nosedive as the company has released the numbers for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The state-owned telco has registered huge losses to touch the figure of Rs 900 crore in the last quarter that ended March 2018. To give a bird’s eye of how serious of a problem it is for MTNL, it is necessary to know that in the same period of January to March in last year, the telco’s losses were pegged at Rs 634.8 crore. The state-owned telco after the coming of telecom operators like Reliance Jio and other ever-present competition has received a severe blow. As a result, the telco has been making huge losses over losses, and the financial numbers tell the same story. Below is the data for the company’s financials point towards a sinking ship of revenue which best describes MTNL’s position now.
The first blow which MTNL has received is a total reduction in income, which points towards negative growth. Thanks to the cutthroat competition in the industry, MTNL has registered negative numbers. Speaking of numbers, MTNL’s total income on a standalone basis has declined by 31.4% and is now down to Rs 660.02 crore as of last quarter of 2017-18 from Rs 963.12 crore posted in the corresponding quarter of 2016-17.
In the same observation period of this year the loss of MTNL on a standalone basis grew to reach the alarming figure of Rs 2,973.03 crore from Rs 2,941.08 crore it posted a year ago.
As per a PTI report, the loss-making firm’s annual income also declined substantially on a standalone basis by 12.27% and was last recorded at Rs 3,116.42 crore for fiscal year (FY) 2018. Whereas in the financial year 2016-17, the same number stood at Rs 3,552.46 crore.
Not only the declining revenue and leaving customers, but the ailing telco has also been in losses for quite some years now. Like the statistics say, the total annual loss has grown to Rs 2,970.91 crore in the financial year 2017-18 while in the previous fiscal year of 2016-17 it stood at Rs 2,936.05 crore.
Company’s total consolidated income for the financial year 2017-18 has also declined by a figure of 12% to Rs 3,217.2 crore, wherein the preceding fiscal year it was pegged at Rs 3,654.69 crore.
Between all this and the circulating news of the telco’s poor financials and dwindling position, the share market was also quick to respond, as MTNL shared closed at 1.48% lower at the price of Rs 16.65 per unit on the BSE.
Now it remains to be seen how MTNL proposes to tackle the problem, since looking at the present position of the company it is hard for anyone to say whether or not MTNL will be able to sustain this declining position for long. Also, it is vital to know that some speculated news of merger of BSNL and MTNL has also surfaced in recent time. If true, this might be a real step in improving both the telcos’ financials.
