SLT posts Rs. 79.6 Bn revenue with Rs. 21 Bn. tax to Govt. in Q3
Sri Lanka Telecom Group (SLT Group), the National ICT Solutions Provider, has reported positive overall revenues of Rs 79.6 Bn, a consolidated growth of 3.9% for the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period last year, driven largely by prudent and proactive measures undertaken in financial and operational management.
Demonstrating resilience in its business model, at the Company level, SLT Q3 revenues grew to Rs 16.9 Bn, an increase of 7.4% when compared to the same period last year, also reflected in optimistic year-to-date growth of 10.6% at Rs 49.4 Bn.
SLT Group’s contribution to the Government of Sri Lanka during the first nine months of 2022 amounted to Rs. 21 Bn. in direct and indirect taxes including levies and dividends.
The Group’s Gross Profit growth for Q3 witnessed a marginal 0.8% increase at Rs 11.1 Bn, in comparison to the previous quarter. Weighing down growth, a negative 3.4% in Gross Profit at Rs 33.4 Bn was recorded for the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year. Group Profit After Tax (PAT) growth declined to 27.1% (QoQ) while year-to-date also reflected a downward momentum at 34.1%.
At the Company level, SLT posted a positive 9.3% Gross Profit increase of Rs 7.2 Bn for Q3, and QoQ and ended the nine months of the year also in a similar trend of 7.1% at Rs. 20.4 Bn. Furthermore, at the Company level, Profit Before Tax for the first nine months recorded a significant increase of 136.1% when compared with the same period last year, owing to a forex gain of Rs. 5.6 Bn. attributable to USD deposits, Dividend Income of Rs. 2.3 Bn. and Rs. 1.1 Bn. of Interest Income earned from USD deposits. PAT for the same period saw considerable growth of 82.8% at Rs 9.3 Bn mainly due to forex gains as a result of LKR devaluation, and dividend income received from subsidiaries. SLT Group Chairman, Rohan Fernando said, “The resilience in our results is primarily due to management intervention in containing costs, the reduction in energy costs, consolidation of operations moving into company-owned premises, and asset monetization subject to government policy being stable to attract FDIs. These results demonstrate how we continue to make tangible progress in delivering steady revenues despite 2022 being one of the most difficult periods in the history of Sri Lanka.”
Company revenue growth was primarily driven by increases in Carrier Domestic, Broadband and Carrier International revenue streams.
Carrier Domestic growth was predominantly from expansion in the provision of Ethernet, international private leased circuit (IPLC) and internet leased line (ILL) services.
Broadband saw revenue growth mainly from FTTH Broadband while Carrier International’s growth was chiefly due to USD appreciation.
“The vision of the SLT Group of becoming a regional tech conglomerate will be pursued vigorously.”
The mobile services arm of the Group, Mobitel has experienced a revenue decline in Q3 22 against the same period in the previous year.
Meanwhile, SLT Group’s EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) growth witnessed a marginal reduction of 1.3% in the first nine months of 2022, compared to the same period last year.
The Group’s operating profit declined by 15.5%, the fall mainly led by the devaluation of the LKR and high inflation costs in the first nine months of 2022.
As a result of the sharp devaluation of the LKR against the USD during the previous quarter, Q2’22, SLT recorded an Rs.2.3 Bn forex gain.