BSNL posts first consecutive quarterly profit at ₹280 crore in Q4FY25

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Tuesday reported a net profit of ₹280 crore in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25), registering gains for the second consecutive quarter, a first for the company. This comes on the back of higher mobile revenue following rollout of 4G services.

 

In Q3FY25, BSNL registered gains for the first time since 2007 with a ₹262 crore net profit. The company reported ₹849 crore loss in Q4FY24.

 

However, the overall loss for FY25 stood at ₹2,247 crore, a 58 per cent reduction from ₹5,370 crore in FY24. The telco also saw its highest-ever capex, improved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margins, and record revenue from core segments and asset monetisation in the year.

 

 

BSNL’s operating revenue rose 7.8 per cent to ₹20,841 crore in FY25, up from ₹19,330 crore a year back, while total income surged by 10 per cent year-on-year to ₹23,427 crore, up from ₹21,302 crore.

 

Revenue from mobility services, including interconnect usage charges (IUC), grew by 6 per cent to an annual ₹7,499 crore, while the Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) segment recorded a 10 per cent increase, reaching ₹2,923 crore. Leased lines and enterprise services also posted a modest gain of 3.5 per cent, generating ₹4,096 crore in FY25.

 

Its Ebitda more than doubled to ₹5,396 crore in FY25, up from ₹2,164 crore in FY24. This led to an improvement in the Ebitda margin to 23.01 per cent compared to 10.15 per cent the previous year. Notably, 27 telecom circles turned Ebitda-positive, up from 17 in FY24, and 10 circles registered net profits, up from just three a year earlier.

 

The telecom operator stressed the latest financial turnaround has been due to disciplined cost control and operational efficiency.

 

 

“The sharp turnaround is testimony to professional management, government support and relentless focus on both the top line and the bottom line. BSNL is not just being revived, but redefined,” BSNL Managing Director Robert J. Ravi said.

 

Ravi stressed the company is confident of sustaining this growth trajectory going forward, also hinting this growth will come without a rise in tariffs. “We will not be chasing profits as our end goal. When we consistently do the right things – provide excellent service, reach the unreached, innovate for inclusivity – profits will naturally follow,” Ravi said.

 

Meanwhile, continuing asset monetisation also helped cut the annual loss. Revenue from the same jumped by a sharp 77 per cent, touching ₹1,120 crore in FY25.

 

Case in point, BSNL officials pointed to total expenditure falling by 3 per cent to ₹25,841 crore in FY25, compared to ₹26,673 crore in FY24. Finance costs were also reduced by 14 per cent to ₹1,527 crore. However, increased investments saw depreciation and amortisation costs rise to ₹6,283 crore.

 

BSNL clocked a record capex investment in FY25, with asset additions amounting to ₹26,022 crore. This included ₹15,324 crore spent on equipment and towers and ₹10,698 crore towards spectrum acquisition, primarily to support 4G rollout and fibre infrastructure, making it the largest investment in the company’s history.

 

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said the company has rolled out more than 98,000 4G towers nationwide. BSNL has begun the testing of 5G infrastructure and sites have begun operating in Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, and Chennai, and few other state capitals, BSNL officials had said earlier.

 

However, this and higher depreciation and amortisation from recent spectrum acquisitions will weigh on quarterly results in the near term despite solid fundamentals, the company said. As a result, 'profit after tax may be subdued next fiscal', the company said.

 

Over the medium to long term, the company believes its profitability prospects are robust, supported by the nationwide rollout of indigenous 4G/5G, 5G network-as-a-service initiatives, investments in core infrastructure and upgradation of backhaul aging fibres.