Pakistan Telecommunication Communication Limited (PTCL) announced its unconsolidated 1HFY12 earning per share (EPS) of Rs0.56, depicting a decline of 29 per cent as compared to the same period last year. However, the company has not disclosed consolidated earnings that include the overall Ufone’s earning contribution to PTCL. “Our preliminary assessment suggests that consolidated earnings would fall in the range of Rs0.87-0.92 per share, down 20-24 per cent from Rs1.15 per share reported in the same period last year,” said the analysts at Topline Securities. The major reason behind subdued earnings was the shrinking gross margins that fell by 142bps to 26.1 per cent as compared to 27.5 per cent in the same period last year, said Nauman Khan.
The analyst said the company’s ailing fixed line operation stood as a major culprit behind reduced gross margin. In addition, decline in company’s other income by 46 per cent to Rs1.7bn in 1HFY12 as against Rs3.2 billion last year also lent its hand in dragging overall earnings downwards. In 2QFY12, PTCL posted unconsolidated EPS of Rs0.28 showing a decline of 26 per cent as compared to Rs0.38 in same period last year. However, compared to the previous quarter (1QFY12) the earning improved by 8 per cent.
