Excelcom's 9-month loss widens

Excelcom's 9-month loss widens

JAKARTA: PT Excelcomindo Pratama, Indonesia's third-biggest
mobile phone company, said its losses this year until September
widened on a bigger currency loss.

Losses widened to Rp 276.5 billion (US$27.6 million), or Rp 49
a share, from Rp 18.1 billion, or Rp 3 a share, the company said
in a statement to the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Sales rose 14
percent to Rp 2.17 trillion.

Excelcomindo's foreign currency losses widened to Rp 449.6
billion from Rp 220.1 billion a year ago. Excelcom must spend
more in rupiah for the $350 million in five-year bonds its unit
sold in 2004 as the currency declines against the dollar.
Operating costs jumped 22 percent to Rp 1.69 trillion.

Excelcom, partly owned by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Bhd and
Telekom Malaysia Bhd, said earlier this month that losses this
year may widen to Rp 204.63 billion from Rp 45.3 billion in 2004,
because of a weaker currency. -- Bloomberg