Business desk
ISLAMABAD: Cellular company Jazz’s revenue during the second quarter decreased 12.1 per cent year-on-year in dollar terms despite an increase of 11.1pc in rupees, the company said in a statement, attributing it mainly to the local currency’s devaluation.
In a statement, Jazz said that its profit margins have been hampered by an increase in operational costs including fuel, electricity and interest. It added that a dwindling rupee also impacted its profitability.
CEO Aamir Ibrahim said there was a “digital emergency” in the country at the moment and added that urgent policy interventions from the government were required to provide critically needed fiscal space to the industry to ensure its survival.
“The pricing of the spectrum has to be in rupees and the payment term has to be extended to 10 years instead of five,” he said.
He added that the telecom industry’s financial health had been severely impacted due to an unprecedented rise in the cost of operations.
Ibrahim said that Jazz was continuously investing in expanding the outreach and capacity of its 4G network and driving the digital ecosystem.
The company plans to invest Rs11.2bn under its ‘4G for all’ target, taking its overall investment in the country to $10.3bn, according to the statement.
Since Jazz is not listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, its results are not made public.
Instead, Jazz released a statement regarding its performance, highlighting that the majority of its capital expenditure during the second quarter had been on the addition of around 400 new 4G sites.
The network expansion played a key role in increasing Jazz’s 4G customer base to 75.5 million.
The company said that the performance of its digital services during the second quarter of 2022 had strengthened Jazz’s position as the country’s leading digital operator.
The monthly active users of JazzCash reached 16.2m with the number of active merchants at 157,000.
The company said that during the second quarter, its self-care app “Jazz World” had 11.1m monthly active users with a growth of 27.5pc compared to the same period last year, while its entertainment platform “Tamasha” had 1.6m monthly active users.-NNI
