BSNL accumulated losses of Rs 90,000 crore: Kotak Institutional Equities

Bharat Sanchar Nigam’s accumulated operating losses have crossed a whopping Rs 90,000 crore, and the government will either need to shut down the beleaguered state-owned telco or keep it afloat through regular equity infusions, Kotak Institutional Equities said.

“BSNL’s financial position has been deteriorating for a long time, in that, the company in the past 14 years has moved from `navratna’ status to being declared an incipient sick PSU,” the brokerage said in a note.

BSNL’s cumulative earnings before interest & taxes (EBIT) losses “would have crossed Rs 90,000 crore by end-December 2018, and preferential low or no-cost spectrum allocation alone will not solve the problem,” Kotak said.