ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), country’s leading telecom and ICT services provider, has announced its financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2018, and an interim dividend of Re. 1 per share at its Board of Directors meeting held in Islamabad, on July 18, 2018. PTCL Group’s revenue for the 1st half of 2018 has grown YoY by 4% to Rs60.7 billion as a result of positive contribution by all group companies. QoQ PTCL Group’s revenue has grown by 2% during the second quarter of 2018. Ufone revenue has increased by 5% YoY despite tough competition in the cellular market. UBank, a microfinance banking subsidiary of PTCL, has shown significant growth of 71% in its revenue over 1st half of 2017. PTCL Group’s operating profit for the period improved by 57%, however, its net profit declined by 45% mainly due to adverse impact of currency devaluation of Rs. 1.1 billion and positive one-offs of Rs. 1.3 billion of last year. Like-for-like net profit of PTCL Group would have been higher by 28% compared to last year. While stable YoY, PTCL revenue has registered 1% growth QoQ. PTCL’s flagship Fixed Broadband DSL service posted revenue growth of 8% over 1st half of 2017. Corporate business has also shown significant growth of 14% over same period last year. Investments made in Charji/LTE during the last years have yielded positive results with YoY revenue growth in double digits. There is, however, decline in domestic and international voice revenues due to continued conversion of subscribers to OTT and cellular services resulting in declining voice traffic volumes. PTCL’s operating profit is lower by 2% compared to the same period of 2017, mainly due to customer acquisition cost spent during 1st half of the year. Further, non-operating income has also declined due to reduced funds on account of VSS and CAPEX investment during last year. This has resulted in a 21% lower Net Profit compared to 1st half of 2017 as reported (and 12% lower if adjusted for one-offs). PTCL has announced an interim dividend of Re. 1 per share, which equates to a dividend payout of Rs. 5.1 billion. PTCL continues its journey to transform its top 100 local exchanges across Pakistan through a comprehensive Network Transformation Program for providing high speed data and IPTV services. The ongoing transformation program delivers positive results in terms of reduced customer complaints, higher customer numbers, better ARPU and higher revenues in upgraded exchanges. Charji’s recent campaigns ‘CharJi Double Volume’ and ‘Karachi CharJi Reconnect’ were launched, which were well received, hence further strengthening CharJi footprint in the market. PTCL signed new ICT, Cloud Infrastructure and Managed Services projects in both private and public sectors, while also enhancing its portfolio with new partnerships and solutions. During the second quarter, PTCL signed an agreement with Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) for offering Cloud Based Solutions to software companies and call centers. PTCL also achieved ISO 27001 & 27017 Certifications for cloud infrastructure services security. PTCL partnered with Dawn Films for the movie ‘7 Din Mohabbat In’ starring top celebrities of Pakistan. Seizing this opportunity, a TV commercial was launched, endorsing 10Mbps Unlimited Internet. PTCL sponsored Pakistan Cricket Team in International T20 Cricket series with West Indies and Scotland. On both occasions, with PTCL on the back, Pakistan T20 Cricket team won the series. Published in Daily Times, July 19th 2018.