Ncell’s business: Income 34 billion and dividend 70 percent, debt reduced from 27 billion to 22 billion

Kathmandu. The business of Ncell, a private sector telecommunications service provider, is continuously declining. According to the public data, the income of the company has been continuously decreasing in the last four years.

In the first quarter of 2025, the unadjusted operating income of this company has been seen to be 8 billion 304 million rupees. Similarly, the gross operating income in 2024 was 34.6 billion 80 million and in 2023 it was 37.44 billion 20 million and in 2022 it was 39.72 billion 50 million rupees. Ncell’s income seems to be decreasing every year.

According to the rating agency Ikra Nepal, as the use of mobile phone service is decreasing and the use of mobile data is increasing, the income is decreasing. In recent times, with the increase in the use of social networks including Facebook Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp, the size of the income received from mobile phone services is affecting the income of telecommunications service providers.

Ncell, which had distributed an average of 83 percent dividend in the previous three fiscal years, reportedly distributed only 70 percent in the last fiscal year.

Registered as Spice Nepal Private Limited in 2001, this company started commercial operations from September 2005 under the Mero Mobile brand name as the first private sector GSM telecom operator. Then in September 2008, the European telecom giant TeliaSonera took a majority stake in the company and in March 2010, its brand name was changed to Ncell and the company’s name was changed to Ncell Private Limited.

On April 12, 2016, the company was acquired by Malaysian company Axiata. This company had purchased 80 percent of Ncell’s shares. The remaining 20 percent shares were held by Nepal’s Sunivera Capital Venture Private Limited. Then, the company’s name was changed again to Ncell Axiata Limited. On August 3, 2020, it was converted into a public limited company.

In December 2023, Axiata sold its 100% stake in Reynolds Holdings Limited to Spectralite UK Limited. However, this share transfer has not been completed. The government has not given its approval. The shareholder of Spectralite UK Limited is Satish Lal Acharya. He is a Singaporean citizen of Nepali origin.

According to ICRA Nepal, Ncell has been rated for bank loans worth Rs 22.6 billion. Out of which, Rs 10.6 billion is long-term and Rs 12 billion is short-term. Earlier, the company had been rated for loans worth Rs 27.225 billion. The company has reduced its loans by Rs 4.625 billion in the meantime. The company has received a rating of LA for long-term loans and A1 for short-term loans.