MTNL net down 18% to Rs 964 crore

BS 200 SCORECARD

Revision in access deficit and interconnect user charges has caused a 17.76 per cent drop in Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd's (MTNL) net profit for the year ended March 31, 2005.

The company bottomline stood at Rs 946.04 crore as against Rs 1,150.47 crore last year. The company's total income fell 10.20 per cent to Rs 6,001.89 crore (Rs 6,683.93 crore).

Commenting on the decline, chairman and managing director, MTNL, RSP Sinha said the company would have seen a net profit of about Rs 400 crore, but for the revision in access deficit charge (ADC) and interconnect user charges (IUC).

"Our losses on account of the revised ADC alone was over Rs 500 crore," he said. Sinha also added that on account of capacity utilisation, the company was unable to add new GSM customers until the last quarter of the year ended March 31.

MTNL's net profit rose 5.26 per cent and income by 4.59 per cent during January-March 2005. The net profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2005, was Rs 323.27 crore as against Rs 307.09 crore in the corresponding period last year, while total income was Rs 1,657.61 crore as compared to Rs 1,584.76 crore in 2003-04, the company informed the BSE.