BSNL, MTNL turn EBITDA positive in first half of FY21: Telecom Department

With the good results the two showed in the first  half of financial year 2020-21,BSNL and MTNL turned Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) positive, according to the Department of Telecom (DoT).  Put simply, EBITDA is a measure of a company's operational performance.

DoT also said that the process for spectrum allocation for 4G services to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on pan-India basis including Delhi and Mumbai has been initiated and funds have been provisioned in FY2020-21.

Summing up the developments in the sector in its year-end review for 2020, the DoT in a release said that overall 92,956 employees of both the public sector companies (PSUs) who opted for Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) retired on January 31, 2020.

"The salary expenditure in BSNL and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd) has reduced by around 50 per cent (about Rs 600 crore per month) and 75 per cent (about Rs 140 crore per month), respectively. EBIDTA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) have become positive in first half of FY 2020-21 in both BSNL and MTNL," it said.

Further, sovereign guarantee of Rs 15,000 crore has been extended to BSNL/MTNL. They have raised the funds from the market to restructure existing high-cost debt.