Indosat announces higher profits
Indosat announces higher profits
JAKARTA (JP): PT Indosat, the state-owned international
telecommunications company, announced last night that its net
income during the January-September period of this year increased
by 9.5 percent to US$ 94.4 million.
The company's president, Tjahjono Soerjodibroto, told a press
conference that the company's operating income in the third
quarter this year alone was $50.9 million, 11.2 percent higher
than that in the same period of last year.
"This was due to a high growth in telephone traffic volume,
Indosat Business Services and telecast services, supported by a
relatively slower growth in operating expenses," Tjahjono said.
He attributed the profit increase mainly to the 19.6 percent
rise of Indosat's international telephone traffic during the
third quarter of this year to 109.9 million minutes.
During the third quarter, the number of Indosat's
International Direct Dial costumers rose by 91,275 to 290,275.
The growth in the services of high speed lines as of Sept. 30
was 43.5 percent, as compared to the same period of 1993.
Meanwhile, the number of telecast minutes during the third
quarter of this year increased by 81.9 percent.
The increase in high speed lines and telecast services is
contributed to the second informal Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum held in Bogor, south of here, a fortnight ago,
Tjahjono said.
Decrease
However, Indosat's services in telex and telegraph traffic as
well as the low speed leased lines decreased by 29 percent, 22.2
percent and 15.3 percent respectively.
"The decreases resulted from costumers' preference in using
high speed lines rather than the lower speed," Tjahjono
explained.
He noted that the company's operating expenses for the third
quarter of this year grew by 21.5 percent to Rp 121.2 billion
($55.8 million). However, the period recorded a slower rise in
operating expenses, compared to the 30.7 percent growth in the
first six months of this year.
"Please note that the operating expenses for the third quarter
already included bonuses of Rp 5.5 billion for employees,"
Tjahjono said.
He said further that Indosat's operating revenue during the
third quarter increased by 16.3 percent to Rp 232.2 billion and
its total assets as of Sept. 30 stood at Rp 833.1 billion, up by
5.6 percent from Dec. 31 last year.
When asked, Tjahjono explained that Indosat had raked in some
Rp 650 billion from its initial public offerings on the New York
Stock Exchange as well as on two local stock markets -- the
Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchanges.
Tjahjono said the proceeds from the public offerings has been
allocated to finance a number of the company's investment
projects.
The projects include the construction of a new gateway
exchange in Surabaya, East Java, participation in the procurement
of the Asia Pacific Cable Network and establishment of a joint
venture company, PT Telkomcell, with the state-owned domestic
telecommunications firm PT Telkom.
"The joint-venture company is set up to build a nationwide GSM
digital cellular telephone network. Indosat's shares in the
company constitute 49 percent of the total shares, while PT
Telkom takes 51 percent," Tjahjono said, adding that Indosat's
total required equity investment is some $29.6 million.
Tjahjono specified that Indosat contributes some $80 million
to the Asia Pacific Cable Network project worth $600 million. The
cable will have nine landing points throughout the Asia-Pacific
region, one of which will be in Jakarta. (rid)