Nepal Telecom (NT) earned a net profit Rs 5.55 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year 2013-14. The figure is a 0.66 percent increment compared to its earnings during the same period a year ago.

The company’s financial statement for the second quarter (mid-July to mid-January) of the current fiscal year shows its total income stood Rs 19.69 billion. In Q2 last year, the company’s income was at Rs 18.43 billion, from which it had earned a profit Rs 5.55 billion.

NT said despite a hostile business environment due to power cuts and increased competition and operating expe-nses, NT managed to record a noteworthy growth in performance by expanding its products and services.

The state-owned company posted a 6.86 percent growth in income to Rs 19.69 billion, while its expenditure grew to Rs 12.2 billion from Rs 10.81 billion last year. “Expenditures increased due to payments for projects like WiMax and the ongoing 10 million GSM lines project,” said Guna Keshari Pradhan, spokesperson for NT. 

Expenses under frequency fee, contribution to the Rural Teleco-mmunication Develo-pment Fund, operation and maintenance, royalty and administrative cost have also gone up, expenses for licence fee and interest on subscribers’ deposit come down.

As per the company, its operation and maintenance cost increased to Rs 3.75 billion from last year’s 3.1 billion. This year, the company has set aside Rs 462 million for frequency fee. 

Pradhan said they paid additional and maximum frequency fee in advance to the government as per the spectrum policy introduced last year.  The company in the last fiscal year 2012-13 had earned Rs 34.10 billion in revenues and earned a net profit of Rs 11.29 billion.