State Bank’s nod awaited for TSA settlement: PTC

May 22, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PSX: PTC) has disclosed that the final settlement of its Technical Service Assistance (TSA) agreement liability remains entirely contingent upon receiving formal regulatory approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Addressing shareholders and analysts at its Corporate Briefing Session (CBS) for the year 2025, the company’s management sought to quell liquidity anxieties by revealing that proactive cash flow management strategies are already locked in place.

PTCL has successfully structured internal funding buffers and built up offsetting receivables to cushion the balance sheet, ensuring the eventual payout will not inflict a sudden cash flow shock on the group.

High Court Clearance & Combined Grid Set to Unlock Massive Tower Synergies

Fielding intense queries regarding passive infrastructure and a strategic shift toward global telecom trends, PTCL confirmed it is actively evaluating options to move toward an asset-light model.

However, management categorically clarified that the execution of a multi-million-dollar tower monetization exercise cannot be rushed.

The deployment depends on key milestones: first, securing the legal amalgamation of Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited via High Court approval; and second, the finalization of a synchronized, unified network grid.

Once the joint infrastructure footprint is consolidated, surplus tower capacities will be mathematically isolated and prepped for carving out or external monetization.

Flash Fiber Records a Thunderous 50% YoY Surge Amid Copper Phase-Out

In a significant consumer tech pivot, PTCL revealed that its premium fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) business, Flash Fiber, achieved an explosive 50% Year-on-Year (YoY) revenue surge during CY25.

Conversely, legacy copper infrastructure revenues crumbled by 13.8%, hit hard by competitive retail pressures and immediate technological obsolescence.

Management highlighted an aggressive operational mandate to completely swap out aging copper lines with fiber alternatives.

Flash Fiber successfully sustained its strong industry leadership with a 35% market share, scaling its subscriber base by 23% Yo, climbing from 678,000 to 833,000 users.

To fuel this expansion, the group added 100,000 home passes in CY25, pushing its total network footprint to 1.7 million home passes spread across 90 cities.

Ufone to Phase Out 3G; UBank Tightens Digital Wallets to Battle Giants

On the cellular side, PTCL’s wireless arm Ufone pushed its active subscriber base to 28.4 million (commanding a 14.2% market share).

In a bid to maximize spectrum efficiency and drastically lift data consistency, Ufone initiated an aggressive sunsetting of its 3G services, successfully migrating 35% of its network sites to higher-capacity 4G coverage.

Meanwhile, confronting intense competition from institutional fintech ecosystem giants like JazzCash, the management acknowledged a substantial scale gap in digital market penetration.

Enhancing UBank’s mobile financial interface has been elevated to a core strategic priority

In terms of banking footprint, UBank expanded its operations to 223 total branches, supported by 71 standalone Islamic financial hubs and a digital cash network exceeding 100 automated teller machines (ATMs).

Normalizing the Financial Impact: One-Offs Mask Core Profitability

While headline numbers indicated contraction, the management presented a highly optimized outlook when dissecting the underlying financial performance. On a standalone basis, PTCL’s reported Earnings Per Share (EPS) dropped steeply by 72% YoY to PKR 0.27.

However, normalizing the earnings to exclude heavy, non-recurring operational shocks reveals a 73% YoY explosion in normalized EPS to PKR 1.67 (up from PKR 0.27).

Management noted that the CY25 balance sheet absorbed heavy legal and regulatory headwinds, primarily driven by three one-off adjustments:

1. A supreme court ruling regarding employee pension adjustments (costing PKR 6.9bn)
2. Strategic transactional consultancy costs linked with the monumental Telenor acquisition (amounting to PKR 1.7bn)
3. An ICH-related antitrust penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) (amounting to PKR 0.46bn).

Excluding these historic non-recurring line items, the PTCL Group's normalized net loss compressed down drastically to just PKR 2.6bn, comparing favorably against the multi-billion-rupee deficits recorded over previous historical periods.

Consolidating the full group top-line, total revenues advanced by 12% YoY to hit an all-time peak of PKR 252 billion, supercharged by strong across-the-board revenue increments of 14% at Ufone, 11% at standalone PTCL, and 7% at UBank.

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