NT reports 6{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} rise in full year net profit

Nepal Telecom (Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited, or NT) has reported a 6{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} rise in net profits for its fiscal year 2066/67 (2009/10) to NPR10.77 billion (USD15.4 million) from NPR10.17 billion in the previous year. The Himalayan Times quotes NT chairman Sushil Ghimire as saying his firm intends to pay dividends to shareholders at the rate of NPR40 per share. The official went on to say that the telco’s total assets for the financial year reached NPR52.5 billion, up from NPR46.3 billion previously.
A related story notes that NT’s revenues derived from international calls dropped by as much as 50{e1f18614b95d3cd6e4b3128e1cd15d99b042a60a5a19c19b7a8e07e7495efa10} in fiscal year 2009/10, compared to a year ago, impacted by a rise in demand for VoIP-based telephony and competitive tariffs. International revenues slumped to NPR420 million from NPR814 million as the emergence of Skype and Google IP options gathers momentum. NT reportedly earned NPR325.5 million from (international) PSTN services, NPR76 million from GSM platforms and NPR18 million from CDMA in fiscal 2009/10. Commenting on the fall in IDD turnover NT’s Surendra Prasad Thike said: ‘We are compelled to reduce tariff in international call because of tough competition in market. Despite of this, traffic volume has not gone up as expected.’
Taken overall, the operator’s PSTN service revenues are slowing in the face of the rising popularity of GSM mobile alternatives he added. NT’s total PSTN revenues dropped to NPR9 billion in the last fiscal year, from about NPR13 million recorded in 2008/09.