Indosat reports Rp 374b 1st quarter earnings

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed telecommunications company PT Indonesian Satellite Corporation (Indosat) has reported a consolidated net income of Rp 374.1 billion (US$44 million) for the first quarter of this year.

The company said on Wednesday that the figure represented a 112.6 percent increase on the corresponding period in 1998.

Earnings per share over the period were Rp 361.3 and $0.42 per American Depository Share (ADS) using the closing exchange rate of Rp 8,685 per U.S. dollar quoted by Bank Indonesia on March 31, 1998.

Indosat's president and chief of executive officer, Tjahjono Soerjodibroto, said the country's prolonged economic crisis had a negative impact on earnings in the first quarter of 1999.

"Demand for international telephone services was sluggish, possibly as a result of the business community awaiting progress in the government's program of economic reform and bank restructuring," he said.

He said telephone traffic in the first two months of the year dropped as the result of a large number of public holiday's which fell in January and February.

"However, modest growth in our other telecommunications services, especially high speed leased line and Internet services, has helped us to increase revenues and net income," he said.

A report placed on the companies website stated that Indosat's international telephone traffic dropped by 28.1 million minutes to 159.1 million minutes in the first quarter 1999, compared to 187.2 million minutes recorded over the same period last year.

Outgoing and incoming telephone traffic volume for the first quarter of 1999 totaled 70.4 million and 88.7 million respectively, down 10.2 percent and 18.5 percent from the first quarter of 1998.

Indosat's executive vice president for operations and engineering, Achmad Rivai, said the companies consolidated operating revenues for the first quarter of 1999 had increased by 61.9 percent to Rp 683.7 billion, up from Rp 422.3 billion in the same period last year.

"The main reason for the increase is revenue from international telephone calls, which has increased by 66.3 percent," he said.

He said Indosat's revenues from other services, including global corporate and Internet services, also increased by 71.6 percent.

Indosat's shares are listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya Stock Exchanges, while its American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. (cst)