PTCL returns to profit after four-year hiatus

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has returned to profit after a gap of more than four years, which comes following the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan. Along with its financial results, the company announced that it would formally launch 5G (Fifth Generation) telecom services in May. However, the top management ducked questions about releasing the outstanding $800 million dues of Pakistan in the backdrop of Islamabad's debt repayment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the Middle East war involving the US, Israel and Iran. At a press briefing on Tuesday, PTCL Group President and CEO Hatem Bamatraf unveiled financial results but deflected a question on how close relations between the UAE and Israel could affect PTCL's business in Pakistan. Replying to media queries, the top management of PTCL, owned by a UAE company, said they could not respond to political questions and even the $800 million dispute. These issues were between shareholders and therefore they could not respond, they said. They told the briefing that Ufone, a PTCL subsidiary, had received a commercial certificate for launching 5G services in Pakistan. Highlighting the first-quarter results, the CEO said revenues of the PTCL group increased by 58% during January-March 2026 compared to the same period of last year. Bamatraf acknowledged that the company had been struggling in the previous years due to several reasons, however, since January 2026, financial results of Telenor Pakistan had been consolidated into the PTCL Group, which supported a sustained growth in fixed broadband, enterprise, wholesale and mobile services. During the January-March 2026 quarter, the consolidated operating profit surged 564% with the inclusion of Telenor Pakistan and the PTCL Group achieved a net profit of Rs3.1 billion, marking a turnaround from the net loss of Rs4 billion in the first quarter of 2025. As the telecom-sector regulator – the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) – has formally approved the amalgamation of Pak Telecom Mobile Limited (Ufone) and Telenor Pakistan, the merger process is in final stages awaiting some legal formalities. While the revenue of PTCL alone grew 6.5% in Q1 and operating profit reached Rs4.6 billion, the net profit stood at Rs0.9 billion. Earlier, PTCL registered a profit in 2021. Bamatraf emphasised that the company was entering a new phase of sustainable growth and after the complete merger of Ufone and Telenor, the customers would experience high-quality services. Speaking on the occasion, PTCL Group Chief Financial Officer Nadeem Khan said the impact of US-Israel war with Iran would be visible in the second quarter of 2026 starting April, both in terms of higher borrowing costs and costly fuel. "The future impact depends on ending the conflict and the company has plans to mitigate financial shocks," Khan said. Another segment of the PTCL Group – Ubank – posted revenue of Rs5.8 billion and its bottom line improved significantly compared to the prior year, marking a strong recovery in banking operations.