Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) on Saturday reported a loss of Rs.1,822.65 crore in 2009-10, first-ever in the company's history. It had reported a profit of Rs.575 crore in 2008-09. It also reported a 10.4 per cent decline in its revenue at Rs.32,045.41 crore in 2009-10 compared to previous fiscal's Rs.35,812 crore.
Reduction in tariff
“The loss has occurred mainly due to reduction in revenue and increase in expenditure. Revenue has gone down due to drastic reduction in tariff, fierce competition as well as decline in fixed wireline connection due to preference of the subscribers for mobile,” BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal told reporters here.
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He retired on Saturday after a three-year stint as the head of the telecom major.
Mr. Goyal pointed out that the wage revision had alone caused an additional expenditure of Rs.2,900 crore over the previous year on account of payment of arrears for the period from January, 2007 to March, 2010. “Had the wage revision expenditure not been there, the company would have recorded a profit before tax to the tune of Rs.703 crore,” he added. For BSNL, this is the first-ever loss registered since its inception in October 2000 when it was hived off from the Department of Telecommunications.