BSNL sees revenue decline in J&K circle

BSNL has experienced an overall growth of 14% in revenue from operations during FY23. However, the revenue declined in nine out of its 30 circles. The circles where revenue fell include Andaman and Nicobar, Kerala, Gujarat, Chennai, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh (west).

According to national media reports, BSNL’s CMD PK Purwar recently instructed the chief general managers (CGMs) of the affected circles to take corrective measures. The decline in revenue can be attributed to a loss of subscribers due to the absence of 4G services.

Purwar highlighted the concerning situation in a letter to the CGMs, stating that two circles were approaching negative growth (decline up to 2%), five circles experienced significant decline (decline up to 6%), and two circles had entered critically negative territory over the past year (decline beyond 10%). He urged all circles to take necessary steps to achieve better results in the upcoming quarters.

Among the nine circles, Uttar Pradesh (West) witnessed the largest decline in revenue, with a 19% drop to Rs 327 crore in FY23. Punjab’s revenue fell by 12.5% to Rs 857 crore, while Kerala, the highest revenue-generating circle for BSNL, saw a 2% decrease in revenue to Rs 1,656 crore in FY23.

BSNL attributes the subscriber churn to the absence of 4G services. Purwar mentioned that in Kerala, where the demand is high due to subscribers’ purchasing power, BSNL is on track to launch 4G services soon.

BSNL’s losses widened to Rs 8,161 crore in FY23, compared to Rs 6,982 crore in FY22. The increase in consolidated losses is primarily due to provisions for adjusted gross revenue dues to the government. However, the telecom operator’s operating profit improved to Rs 1,559 crore in FY23, compared to Rs 944 crore in FY22.

Recently, BSNL received fresh budgetary support of Rs 89,000 crore from the government, bringing its total relief package to over Rs 3.2 trillion in the last four years.