Hutch Oz Loses Deepen Following CDMA Shutdown

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) said Wednesday its first half net loss widened after it took a writedown as it switched off its CDMA network.

In a statement, Sydney-based Hutchison, backed by Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa, said its net loss for the six months to June 30 came in at A$524.7 million, compared with a loss of A$305.3 million the previous year.

Revenue from continuing operations rose to A$490.5 million from A$449.1 million a year ago.

The group booked costs of A$299.2 million for the CDMA network closure, which were reflected in the headline result.

The company said its 3G customer base grew by 390,000 subscribers during the half, including 256,000 customers moved over from its CDMA network. It had a total of 1.044 million customers at the end of the reporting period, of which 88.3% were post-paid subscribers.

It said average revenue per user, or APRU, fell by 5.8% for the half, due to the broadening of its customer base and a reduction in mobile interconnection rates.

Subscriber acquisition costs for its 3G business fell to A$265 per customer for the half, compared with A$427 a year ago, due to falling handset prices.

The company, which competes in the third generation-mobile arena with Telstra and Singapore Telecommunications's Optus unit, said excluding the costs associated with the CDMA network switch-off, it would have reported earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization of A$1.3 million for the half.

It expects an improvement in EBITDA in the second half of the year, and said its second half EBITDA loss position should be better than the underlying loss reported for the first half.

But the company said its optimal level of debt to equity needs further review and when a decision on the recommended capital structure has been made, it expects to be in a stronger financial position.

-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com

-Edited by Paul Godby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 23rd August 2006