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