The profit of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) witnessed a staggering growth of 269% year-on-year in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), PTA’s profits rose to Rs. 30.1 billion in the first quarter of FY22 compared to Rs. 8.2 billion in Q1 of the previous fiscal.
Revenues rose sharply, as the government received Rs. 23.4 billion for the issuance of a 4G spectrum license to a major cellular company, Ufone. The rest of the revenue was driven from various accounts and charges by the authority.
The amount received for the license was half of the total sales price of the license as the remaining amount will be received in five equal installments annually in accordance with terms and conditions.
PTA’s contribution stands second highest in the national kitty on the account of non-tax revenues.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), being the largest contributor of non-tax revenue, generated an income of Rs. 109 billion during Q1 FY22 as compared with an income of Rs. 105 billion in a similar period of the last year, showing a paltry growth of 3.5% year-on-year.
This was despite a contraction in interest earnings stemming from the partial retirement of the government’s debt with SBP. This drop was more than offset by the interest earnings from open market operation (OMO) injections, which almost doubled over the same period last year.
Revenues under royalties on oil and gas also grew by 48% during Q1 FY22, increasing to Rs. 21.7 billion in 2021 from Rs. 14.6 billion in 2020.
Revenues from passports and other fees also saw a jump of 106% in Q1 FY22, surging to Rs. 6.1 billion compared to Rs. 3 billion last year.
The government witnessed a 90% drop in the income from Petroleum Development Levy. It declined to Rs. 13.3 billion in Q1 F22 as compared to Rs. 136 billion reported in Q1 FY21. The marked difference is because the government absorbed high prices of petroleum products through this tax.
Overall, the non-tax revenue income of the government showed a decline of 22% in the said period. It stood at Rs. 257.7 billion in Q1 FY22 compared to Rs. 356.3 billion reported in Q1 FY21.