SLT Group records Rs. 50 b revenue for 2010

Profit before tax up by 327% and profit after tax increases by 407% to Rs. 3.94 B

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) yesterday announced that it has posted a record Rs. 50.25 b in revenue in the last financial year.

Releasing the SLT Group and Company financial results for the 12 months ending 31 December 2010, the Group also delivered a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 5.96 b, with a YoY growth of 327%, while the Group’s Profit After Tax (PAT) hit Rs. 3.94 b, a remarkable increase of 407%.

The results were released in a statement by SLT, which noted the results were mainly driven by the improved performance delivered by SLT, the parent company of the Group and exceptional performance by Mobitel, the mobile arm of the SLT group.

“Group free cash flow showed an increased from a negative Rs. 2 b in 2009 to Rs. 8.8 b in 2010. Comparatively low capital expenditure and better performance overall saw an improvement in cash flows. Group EPS increased from Rs. 0.43 in 2009 to Rs. 2.18 in 2010, which is an increase of 407%, which naturally permeated to better shareholder value,” the statement said.    

The impressive 147% growth of Rs. 3.97 b in PBT achieved by SLT in 2010 is primarily due to the infusion of prudent operational efficiencies and through restructuring.  

The company experienced a marginal drop in revenue to Rs. 33.31 b in 2010 from Rs. 34.09 b in 2009, mainly due to price pressures and alternative solutions available in the market.

However, SLT was able to improve its NPAT margin from 4% in 2009 to 7% in 2010, while maintaining an EBITDA margin of 30%. During 2010, SLT achieved Rs. 2.48 b NPAT compared to Rs. 1.23 b in the prior year, an impressive 101% increase YoY. 

“The Optical Fibre Connectivity Project is another such accomplishment with over 8,000 kms of optical fibre connecting most of the country. We passed the 200,000 fixed line broad band customer mark achieving a growth of 36% and a customer increase of 57,000 YoY and have amassed a total of 1.4 million fixed lines and over 4.0 million mobile customers,” the statement noted.

“Fixed wired line customers showed growth of 24,000 YoY standing slightly below 900,000, while the fixed wireless (CDMA) customer base declined by 12,000 to reach 550,000 subscribers, a trend that strongly underpins customer preference for fixed broadband ADSL services,” it added.