Personal, the mobile unit of Telecom Argentina, recorded net profits of 67mn pesos (US$21mn) in the second quarter of 2007 compared to 14mn pesos in the same period last year, the company said in an earnings statement.
Revenues for the quarter were 1.35bn pesos, an increase of 36% from 987mn pesos in the year-ago quarter.
Meanwhile, the company generated a net profit of 130mn pesos in 1H07 compared to 8mn pesos in the same period last year. Revenue for H1 totaled 2.62bn pesos, 40% higher than the 1.87bn pesos seen in 1H06.
"These results are in line with our main objective in terms of expanding our mobile business, increasing our share in that market and strengthening our technological leadership," Telecom Argentina's CEO Carlos Felices said in a conference call with investors.
The company ended H1 with a total client base of 11.3mn, an increase of 47% compared to 7.7mn at the same time last year.
Clients in Argentina totaled 9.9mn at end-1H07, up 44% year-on-year. Some 68% of subscribers were prepaid clients and 92% of clients use Personal's GSM platform with the remainder using CDMA.
Personal's operations in Paraguay, where it operates under the Núcleo brand, had 1.4mn subscribers at the end of the first half this year, an increase of 78% compared to end-1H06.
Prepaid and postpaid clients represented 89% and 11%, respectively, while GSM subscribers represented 82% of Núcleo's subscriber base at the end of 1H07.
Personal invested 253mn pesos in the first half of the year, 5% more than in the same period 2006. Investment in Argentina amounted to 219mn pesos while investments in Paraguay were 34mn pesos.
"For full 2007 we expect to see a gradual slowdown in revenues considering the stage in which the cellular market is in terms of penetration," Felices added.
The executive said Telecom expects to continue investing to expand the company's network across the country to face the increasing base of subscribers.
Posted to the site on 13th August 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/25402.php