In the past seventeen years, State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) suffered back-to-back losses owing to tough industry competition, and the advent of major players such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio. Last year, it posted a before-tax loss of ₹1,569 crore in the December quarter of 2023. However, the telecom giant finally turned it around, posting a profit before tax of ₹262 crore for the three months ending December 2024.
Operations revenue for the quarter jumped 9.3 per cent year-on-year to ₹4,969 crore. Total income earned by BSNL for the period soared 12.2 per cent to ₹5,675 crore, lifted by other income ₹706 crore.
For the first time in 17 years @BSNLCorporate has made a net profit in Oct-Nov 2024 Quarter. pic.twitter.com/KHqdS3amzb
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) February 16, 2025
Major cuts in expenditure related to network operations, employee benefits, and finance costs led to BSNL EBITDA growing more than 4 times to ₹1,466 crore from last year’s quarter’s ₹316 crore.
Total expenditure for the quarter was reduced to ₹4,210 crore (from ₹4,741 crore a year ago) while finance costs were cut down to ₹389 crore (from ₹442 crore a year ago)
This time around, 20 circles of the telecom operator posted positive EBITDA. This marked a major improvement from 12 circles a year ago.
"We have successfully reversed the trend of financial deterioration, and the last three quarters have shown continuous improvement in our financial performance, leading to a sharp reduction in net loss," BSNL said in a statement by the Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
"For the next quarter, our focus remains on accelerating 4G/5G rollouts to enhance service quality and network reach," it said, along with "expanding enterprise solutions to tap into new revenue streams."
BSNL also looks to monetise its digital assets and further streamline its operational expenditures "through strategic cost-saving measures".
