Telkom profit surges on cellular boom<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) recorded a 19
\npercent increase in net profit during the first nine months of
\nthis year on higher revenue from its cellular, interconnection,
\ninternational calls and multimedia businesses.<\/p>\n
In a statement to the Jakarta Stock Exchange on Monday, the
\ncountry's largest telecommunications company said profits had
\nsoared to Rp 5.78 trillion (US$578 million) between January and
\nSeptember from Rp 4.85 trillion in the same period of last year.<\/p>\n
The profit was derived from strong growth in operating
\nrevenues, which rose by 20 percent to Rp 30.1 trillion from Rp 25
\ntrillion previously.<\/p>\n
Revenues from the company's cellular business, which rose by
\n29 percent to Rp 9.93 trillion from Rp 7.68 trillion, contributed
\nto some 32 percent of the revenues, while those from the fixed
\nline business accounted for 27.5 percent.<\/p>\n
Telkom's cellular business is run by its subsidiary, PT
\nTelkomsel, which has about a 55 percent market share.<\/p>\n
With a relatively lower expansion in the fixed line business
\ndue to higher investment spending than other telecommunications
\ninfrastructure, revenue from this sector declined slightly to Rp
\n8.31 trillion from Rp 8.35 trillion.<\/p>\n
Currently, only about 4 percent of the country's 220-million
\npopulation have access to fixed line telephones. Telkom controls
\nsome 97 percent of the domestic fixed line business, with about
\n9.5 million users.<\/p>\n
Another contributor to Telkom's higher revenue was the
\ninterconnection business, which recorded a 26.7 percent increase
\nto Rp 5.46 trillion during the first nine months of this year as
\nagainst Rp 4.31 trillion in the corresponding period last year.<\/p>\n
Telkom also booked strong revenue growth in its data and
\ninternet business, which increased by 44.6 percent to Rp 4.85
\ntrillion from Rp 3.35 trillion.<\/p>\n
In the international call business, Telkom managed to increase
\nits revenue by more than five fold following aggressive promotion
\nafter the government decided to allow the company to fully engage
\nin the business.<\/p>\n
Before 2002, Telkom's smaller rival PT Indosat held a monopoly
\nin the international call sector.<\/p>\n
Revenue from this business rose to Rp 280.2 billion from Rp
\n53.8 billion previously.<\/p>\n
The company also reported that operating expenses soared by 20
\npercent to Rp 17.35 trillion from Rp 14.40 trillion previously.<\/p>\n
Telkom has major prospects of recording higher profits as it
\noperates in a market where less than 20 percent of the nation's
\n220 million people have mobile or fixed-line phones.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/telkom-profit-surges-on-cellular-boom-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}