In Q1 2023, Jazz witnessed a decline of 20.4% in its revenue in USD terms, despite experiencing a 16% YoY growth in local currency. This decline was primarily due to PKR devaluation of 47% YoY.
The company’s margins were affected by a rise in business costs, including an 8.3 p.p. YoY increase in interest rates, as well as a YoY increase of around 80% and 32% in fuel and electricity costs, respectively. Despite these challenges, Jazz invested PKR 3.7 billion in Q1 2023, mainly under its “4G for all” initiative, which brought its total investment in Pakistan to USD 10.4 billion.
Jazz focused on expanding its 4G network by adding more than 1,000 new 4G sites, resulting in a 17.4% YoY increase in its 4G customer base, reaching 43.1 million, while its overall subscriber base reached 73.7 million.
The company’s CEO, Aamir Ibrahim, expressed concerns about the financial health of the telecom industry due to rising operational costs such as fuel, electricity, interest rates, and forex rates. Despite these challenges, Jazz remains committed to driving digital inclusion in Pakistan by expanding its 4G network and investing in the sector.
The company has urged policymakers to intervene by taking measures such as delinking the spectrum price from the US dollar, staggering license payments over ten annual installments instead of five, and promoting disciplined inflationary pricing.
