Jazz’s revenue decreased 12.1% in USD terms during the second quarter of 2022 despite an overall 11.1% YoY growth in local currency. This was primarily due to the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee, while the margins were constrained by the sharp rise in operational costs such as fuel, electricity, interest, and foreign exchange rates.
Jazz, on the other hand, maintained its market leadership position by investing an additional PKR 11.2 billion under its ‘4G for everyone’ initiative, bringing its total investment in Pakistan to US$10.3 billion. About 400 new 4G sites were added during this quarter, accounting for the majority of its capital expenditures.
Jazz’s 4G subscriber base increased by 24.1% YoY to 38.2 million, while its overall subscriber base reached 75.5 million as a result of this network growth.
Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, stated, “While we are continuously investing in expanding the reach and capacity of our 4G network and advancing the digital ecosystem, telecom industry’s financial health is severely impacted due to unprecedented rise in operating costs, particularly fuel, electricity, interest rates, and exchange rates.
“We are demanding immediate policy interventions from the government to offer vitally needed fiscal space to the business to ensure its survival during the present digital crises. This involves pricing the spectrum in Pakistani rupees and increasing the payment terms from five to ten years”, he continued.
Jazz’s position as the nation’s premier digital operator was cemented by the performance of its digital services throughout the quarter. JazzCash, an online financial service, now has 157,000 active merchants and 16.2 million monthly active customers.
While Tamasha, its quickly expanding entertainment platform, now has 1.6 million monthly active users, Jazz World, its self-care app, continued to have excellent consumer adoption levels, rising by 27.5% YoY to reach 11.1 million.
