MTNL shares drop 5% after PNB downgrades co's loan account to NPA

MTNL shares fall: Shares of state-owned telecommunications service provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) fell 4.65 per cent to Rs 52.41 during intra-day deals on Thursday. The fall in the stock price follows MTNL's announcement to the exchanges, in which it said that Punjab National Bank (PNB) has downgraded the loan accounts of the company to NPA on September 9, 2024, due to non-payment of interest and installment.

Earlier, on September 11, the company said that CRISIL Ratings has placed its rating on the Rs 6,500 crore bonds and Rs 3,688.97 crore non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of MTNL on ‘Rating Watch with Negative Implications.’

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) is the principal provider of fixed-line telecommunication services in Delhi and Mumbai. It offers mobile services in Delhi, including four peripheral towns, namely Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, along with areas falling under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, New Mumbai Corporation, and Thane Municipal Corporation. MTNL is one of the two state-owned telecom service providers in India, alongside BSNL. The Government of India (GoI) holds a majority stake in MTNL (56.25 per cent as of March 31, 2024), and the balance is held by the public.

As of September 19, 2024, MTNL commands a market capitalisation of Rs 3,332.70 crore on the BSE. At around 2:20 pm, MTNL shares were quoted trading at around Rs 52.90, down 3.77 per cent from its previous close of Rs 54.97 on the NSE. Nearly 24.59 lakh equities worth around Rs 13.21 crore exchanged hands on the NSE till now today. The company's shares have been trading in the range of Rs 55.91 - 52.41 on Thursday.

MTNL shares are currently trading 48.10 per cent lower from its 52-week high of Rs 101.93, called on July 29, 2024, on the NSE.

Shares of MTNL have slipped marginally 0.07 per cent in the last one week, and about 7 per cent in the last one month.

MTNL shares have sprinted nearly 60 per cent year-to-date.