http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=6506
PTCL plans Rs20bn expansion project
By Imran Ayub
KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has planned its first post privatization network expansion and development project with an investment outlay of around Rs20 billion for the upcoming fiscal 2006-2007.
A top company official said the new fiscal would focus mainly on increase in subscriber base and quality improvement, which would require almost the same funds, spent during 2005-06.
“Our board meeting is due shortly, in which we expect approval of around Rs15 billion to Rs20 billion development budget for 2006-07,” Junaid I Khan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the PTCL told The News.
He said the new fiscal would focus more on quality than tariff but he hinted the call rates could witness 10 to 15 per cent decline in the near term depending on the nature of business strategies and company’s policy.
“We would have a board meeting, which in fact would be the first or second after Etisalat takeover and it would hopefully give approval to several development projects,” added Khan. “We would try to expand our WLL (wireless local loop) subscriber base during 2006-07 along with fixed line telephony service.”
The UAE-based Etisalat formally took over charge of PTCL last month following its $2.6 billion offer for 26 per cent shares in the entity with management control in the biggest ever deal of the country’s privatisation history.
PTCL is the leading provider of basic telephone services to the private sector in Pakistan with more than 5 million telephone lines in service. Besides providing fixed line and ancillary services, PTCL owns Ufone - a cellular service operator - and Paknet, a countrywide Internet service provider.
The PTCL chief said during 2005-06 the company had managed to attract two million WLL subscribers and similarly half a million fixed line telephony customers were registered during current financial year.
"We have already brought down the tariff to a very low level," he said. "So now we are introducing new tariff packages to attract new customers coupled with improved service across the country."
He said newly introduced tariff package was not a new connection type but it may be considered as another brand or value addition. The new tariff packages were applicable only to landline phone connection where a customer receives a monthly bill and one could select any call package.
The PTCL chief agreed declining profit appeared challenging for the largest telephony network of the country with new management but the plans were there to find new business avenues and explore more value-added services to give a pedestal to its falling revenue.
"We have been planning broadband service for a long, which would definitely help in generating revenue," he added. "We have been aggressively following our projects to launch broadband service and it may take another six to eight months to take off."
Profit after taxation of the PTCL declined 28.3 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal with decline in international calls revenue and higher operating cost compared with the corresponding period of previous financial year. The PTCL financial results suggest the telecom sector giant earned Rs15.28 billion during July 2005 to March 2006 as against Rs21.3 billion earned during July 2004 to March 2005.