PTCL Q1 profit down 6.9pc

Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd (PTCL) posted a 6.9 per cent fall in quarterly profit on Monday, a drop analysts said came as competition ate into international call revenue and outweighed subscriber growth.

PTCL – the country’s fourth-largest listed company with a market value of around $2.9 billion – said net profit in its first quarter to end-September fell to Rs5.15 billion ($85million) from Rs5.53 billion a year earlier.

PTCL’s control of Pakistan’s land-line sector has been eroded since the government opened up the market in 2002, but it still dominates the sector, and also operates mobile phone and Internet services.