SLT Group records Rs 2.03 bn PBT for 1Q-13
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) released financial performance of its
Group and Company for the first quarter 2013.
The group has recorded a Rs.14.45 bn revenue, with 5% year on year
growth during the quarter. Strategic initiatives engaged particularly in
the mobile sector together with the expansion of broadband and data
services through i-Sri Lanka program have complemented the growth of
group revenue.
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Nimal
Welgama |
During the quarter under review, the group reported a Net Profit
Before Tax (NPBT)of Rs. 2.03 bn and Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of Rs.
1.60 bn. This is an impressive growth of 90% and 226% respectively
compared to that of the previous year, which was negatively impacted by
Rs. 1.4 bn foreign currency conversion loss. Compared to previous
quarter the improvement of Group NPBT and NPAT was 48% and 83%. Increase
in operating costs mainly driven by inflationary factors, has diluted
the group EBITDA margin to 32% from 36% during the same period in the
previous year.In line with increased profits, Group annualized Earnings
Per Share (EPS) has been increased from Rs.1.09 in 1st quarter 2012 to
Rs.3.55 during the quarter under review.
At the Company level, Rs. 8.70 bn revenue was reported with a
marginal growth of 1% compared to the corresponding quarter of the
previous year. Rapid increase of operating costs has eroded the Net
Profit Before Tax and Net Profit After Tax of the quarter under review
by 46% and 48% respectively to Rs. 1.06 bn and Rs. 0.78 bn.
SLT has moved onto a period of growth with the appointment of Group
CEO Lalith De Silva in February 2013, who has extensive experience in
the telecommunication and IT sector.
Commenting on the performance of the company, Lalith De Silva
stressed the importance of adopting a synergistic approach within the
group to facilitate rapid growth in terms of financials as well as to
provide an enhanced service experience to the customers.
In the face of intense competition, Mobitel was able to report a
healthy performance recording a growth in both subscribers and revenue.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2013 grew by10 % to Rs 6.6 bn
compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The revenue growth
was duly supported by timely investments in network infrastructure for
capacity building and coverage expansion.
This in turn resulted in an increase in customer base by 14% in
comparison to the first quarter of previous year. This growth was
achieved despite the Sri Lankan mobile market reaching saturation by end
of 2012 according TRCSL sources.
Mobitel reported improvement in all key profitability indicators
EBITDA, EBIT and NPAT during the first quarter of 2013 compared to same
period in previous year. The growth achieved in overall revenue which
increased by Rs 0.58 bn continues to be reflected across profitability
indicators with EBITDA and EBIT growing by 3% and 5% respectively.
This was a result of continuous efforts to manage costs while
striving for optimum asset utilization. For the first quarter of 2013
Mobitel reported an After Tax Profit of Rs.0.64 bn as against Rs.0.95 bn
losses in the first quarter of 2012 mainly brought about by the
depreciation of the rupee in the early part of 2012. Therefore the NPAT
growth achieved for the period is 167 % in comparison to the same period
of previous year.
According to Nimal Welgama, Chairman SLT Group, SLT is now ready to
deploy high investments in Infotainment, expansion of International
cables, Data and Broadband services and expansion of IT systems.
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