BSNL Went From Making Profits in 2013 To Incurring Major Losses in 2023? No!
Both figures mentioned in the viral claim are incorrect.
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A claim is doing the rounds on social media platforms stating that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had reported a profit of Rs 10,183 crore in 2013, but incurred a major loss of Rs 13,356 crore in 2023.
What are users saying?: Questioning who is to be blamed for this decline, those sharing the posts said, "BSNL's profit in 2013 was 10183 crore, and in 2023 the loss increased to 13356 crore. Friends, who ruined BSNL?."
The post had garnered over 1.7 lakh views on the platform, when this report was being written. (More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
What are the facts?: Contrary to the viral claim, the telecom company had reported a net loss of about Rs. 7,019.76 crore in 2013-14 as per its annual report.
BSNL incurred a loss of Rs 8,161.5 crore in the financial year 2022-23, however, it remained EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation ) positive.
Annual report of 2012-13: Using the keywords "bsnl annual report 2013" on Google, we were able to find the annual report of the telecom company for the financial year 2012-13.
The report mentioned that the company had incurred a loss of Rs 7,884.44 crore during the said financial year.
Additionally, it showed that a profit of around Rs 915.36 crore before EBIDTA.
The table shows a breakdown of financial performance of BSNL in 2012-13.
(Source: BSNL Annual report/Screenshot)
What did annual report of 2013-14 show?: It said that the company had incurred a loss of Rs 7,019.76 crore in 2013-14, which was down from Rs 7,884.44 in 2012-13.
It said that an increase of 1.94 percent in income from services was reported in comparison to the previous financial year.
The financial year saw BSNL making Rs 690.44 crore profit before EBIDTA.
The table shows a breakdown of financial performance of BSNL in 2013-14.
(Source: BSNL Annual report/Screenshot)
News report: As per a report in Economic Times, BSNL had suffered a loss of around Rs 14,979 crore in landline services for the fiscal 2013-14. Its net loss stood at Rs 7,085 crore.
These figures were provided in Rajya Sabha, the then Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad. However, these figures were unaudited and provisional.
The report was last updated on 1 August 2014.
(Source: ET/Screenshot)
What about BSNL's performance in 2014-15?: Referring to the annual report for the said financial year, we found that the company HAD recorded a loss of around Rs 8,234.09 crore, down from Rs 7,019.76 crore.
The report said that an increase of 4.16 percent in income from services was reported in 2014-15, whereas the total income increased by 2.32 percent.
It also showed Rs 672.57 crore profit before EBIDTA.
A breakdown of financial performance can be seen here.
(Source: BSNL Annual report/Screenshot)
A downward trend from 2005?: Team WebQoof found an answer given by Prasad in the Rajya Sabha in 2015. The question showed an individual seeking details about the continuous revenue loss reported by BSNL.
Prasad said that the profit of BSNL in 2004-05 was about Rs 10,183 crore, however, there has been a continuous decline in the revenue garnered by the company since 2005-06.
The details for revenue reported by the company in each financial year can be found here.
(Source: Digital Sansad/Screenshot)
Annual report of BSNL in 2022-23: As per the company's annual report, it had incurred a loss of Rs 8,161.56 crore, which was up from Rs 6,981.62 crore in the previous year.
It further said that the total revenue reported by BSNL has increased by 8.64 percent as compared to the previous year.
The report showed BSNL remaining EBIDTA positive to Rs 1,558.79 crore.
A breakdown of the company's performance can be seen here.
(Source: BSNL Annual report/Screenshot)
News reports: A report in Economic Times said that BSNL suffered a loss (before exception items) of around Rs 6,662 crore, whereas its operating profit was up 65 percent at Rs 1,559 crore for the financial year 2022-23.
Times Now, in its report published in February of this year, mentioned Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw remarks where he credited the government for the positive turnaround of BSNL.
Vaishnaw also said that the company had achieve a profit of around Rs 1,500 crore at the EBIDTA level.
The report was last updated on 12 February.
(Source: Times Now/Screenshot)
Conclusion: It is clear that the claim of BSNL reporting profits in 2013 but incurring significant losses in 2023 is false.
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