Indosat's profit up 33 percent

Indosat's profit up 33 percent

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed international telecommunications
provider PT Indosat announced yesterday a 33 percent increase in
net profit to Rp 176 billion (US$22 million) in the first quarter
of this year from Rp 132.4 billion over the same period last
year.

The company said in a statement yesterday that its earning per
share was Rp 170 (2 U.S. cents) per American Depository Shares
(ADS).

The company's international telephone call revenue rose by
19.8 percent to Rp 346.6 billion in the first three months of
this year from Rp 289.4 billion over the corresponding period
last year, the statement said.

International telephone revenue was higher than telephone
traffic growth, due to the impact of rupiah sharp depreciation
against the U.S. dollar, despite the negative impact of a 2.4
percent reduction in the average accounting rate, it said.

Other telecommunication services revenue rose 112.5 percent to
Rp 58.6 billion in the first quarter this year compared to Rp
27.6 billion over the same period last year.

The company said that the increase in other telecommunication
services revenue was due to a strong demand for IBS, VSAT and
also internet services.

The statement said that the company's international telephone
traffic increased by 28.4 million minutes to 187.2 million
minutes in the first quarter this year from 158.8 million minutes
in the first quarter last year.

The company's executive vice president for marketing, Bambang
Sulistyo, said that from January until March 31, this year,
Indosat's outgoing and incoming telephone traffic volume was 78.4
million minutes and 108.8 million minutes respectively, an
increase of 19.1 percent and 17 percent compared to the same
period in 1997.

"Our market share loss to our competitor appears to be slowing
down as showed by our average market share for telephone
services, including fixed and cellular lines, of 87.3 percent
compared to 86.2 percent in the end of 1997," he said.

The statement said consolidated operating revenue increased by
30.6 percent Rp 422.3 billion in the first quarter this year
compared to Rp 323.2 billion over the same period last year.

The company's consolidated operation expenses rose 27.9
percent to Rp 218.3 billion in the first quarter of this year
from Rp 170.7 billion over the same period last year.

The company said the increase in foreign exchange and net
interest gains, combined with the increase of investment income
resulted in net other income of Rp 36.6 billion, a rise of 34
percent for the same period in 1997.

Investment income increased by 30 percent to Rp 6.8 billion in
the first quarter this year from Rp 5.3 billion over the same
period last year. (aly)