Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the country’s former telecom monopoly and a key player in the fixed-line and broadband sector, has announced financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2025, revealing a tale of two performances. The company’s consolidated operations, which include its mobile subsidiary Ufone, reported a massive loss of Rs. 9.90 billion (Loss per share: Rs. 1.94), a significant deterioration of 11% from the Rs. 8.91 billion loss in the same period last year.
This colossal loss is primarily attributed to a one-time, non-cash past service cost of Rs. 5.89 billion related to pension obligations, which severely impacted the bottom line. Mimicking the core business, contrary to the past, a severe deterioration in the standalone company’s profitability was also seen.
Excluding its subsidiaries, PTCL reported a standalone loss of Rs. 3.26 billion (Loss per share: Rs. 0.64). This is a stark contrast to the profit of Rs. 1.14 billion (EPS: Rs. 0.22) reported in the same period last year.
This negative result is also primarily due to a one-time, non-cash past service cost of Rs. 5.89 billion related to pension obligations, listed under “Other costs.” This massive charge completely negated the company’s operational gains. Despite this, the core business showed some strength, with revenue growing by 11.8% to Rs. 58.91 billion from Rs. 52.70 billion in H1 2024. Operating profit before the pension charge stood at a healthy Rs. 7.86 billion.
The consolidated revenue also grew healthily by 16.1% to Rs. 124.6 billion, demonstrating solid top-line growth across the group. However, this was overshadowed by high operating costs and the massive pension charge. The company’s financial position remained stable, with total assets standing at Rs. 465.23 billion. Notably, the board of directors did not recommend any dividend for the period.
Since the announcement of the financial result, the company’s share rice has maintained its course showcasing the market’s indifference over the growth in loss. By the time of the filing of this report, the company’s share price had gone down by less than 0.5%, showing resilience in the larger market sell-off.
