MTNL jumps on buzz Govt plans to revive telecom PSUs

MTNL jumped 8.49% to Rs 34.50 at 10:49 IST on BSE on reports the government will take steps to revive ailing state-run telecom firms MTNL and BSNL.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 76.17 points, or 0.30%, to 25,597.36.

On BSE, so far 22.45 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 14.74 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 34.65 and a low of Rs 32.10 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 35.20 on 26 May 2014. The stock hit a record low of Rs 9.71 on 20 August 2013.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 June 2014, rising 56.65% compared with 5.80% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 122.53% as against Sensex's 17.02% rise.

The mid-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 630 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was quoted by media as saying that steps will be taken on a priority basis to revive the two public sector units (PSUs), MTNL and unlisted BSNL, that have failed to ride the boom in the Indian telecom sector even as private operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea grew from strength to strength.

"I have found that MTNL and BSNL have not received as much attention as required. They need proper infrastructure support," Mr Prasad was quoted by the media as saying.

The minister also reportedly urged MTNL and BSNL to lay a special emphasis on improving their services.

MTNL reported net profit of Rs 9600.34 crore in Q4 March 2014 as against net loss of Rs 1985.93 crore in Q4 March 2013. Net sales declined 8.46% to Rs 840.35 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.

MTNL provides basic phone, internet and cellular mobile telephony services in Delhi and Mumbai. The Government of India (GoI) holds 56.25% stake in MTNL (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 December 2013).

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