Telkom profit rises 14% on cellular, fixed businesses
Telkom profit rises 14% on cellular, fixed businesses
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned PT Telkom, the country's largest
telecommunications company, reported a 14 percent surge in net
profit during the first nine months of this year, on higher
revenue from its cellular and fixed-line telephone businesses.
Publicly listed Telkom said net profit from January to
September this year rose to Rp 5.02 trillion (US$556 million)
from Rp 4.41 trillion in the same period last year. Operating
revenue also climbed to Rp 25 trillion from Rp 19.6 trillion.
The Bandung-based Telkom did not provide an explanation for
the increase, but analysts believe it was mainly the result of
higher revenue booked by the company from its cellular and fixed-
line businesses.
The company's revenue from its cellular services jumped to Rp
7.68 trillion in the first nine months of this year from Rp 6.12
trillion in the same period last year. Revenue from its fixed-
line business increased to Rp 7.65 trillion from Rp 6.47
trillion.
Revenue from the company's cellular and fixed-line businesses
account for about 61 percent of the company's total operating
revenue, with 17.2 percent coming from the interconnection
business and 21.8 percent from Internet, data, network and other
services.
PT Telkomsel, Telkom's joint cellular subsidiary with
Singapore Telecommunications, leads the domestic cellular market
with 14 million subscribers, or about 53 percent of market share.
The company expects revenue to grow by 20 percent next year as
the number of subscribers for its cellular business and Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA) telephone service are projected
to increase.
There is still huge room for growth in the telecommunications
sector in Indonesia, which has a population of over 220 million
and a low telecom penetration rate. Only about 8.5 million people
have access to fixed-line phones, while about 25 million
subscribe to cellular phone services.
According to its financial statement, Telkom's interest
expenses remain high, with an allocation of Rp 937 billion in the
first nine months of this year, down slightly from Rp 948 billion
in the same period last year.
The company also incurred a foreign exchange loss of Rp 577
billion from a gain of Rp 165 billion in the corresponding period
last year.
The weakening rupiah during the period made it more expensive
for the company to repay its foreign-currency debt, because most
of its earnings are in the local currency.
Telkom shares rose by Rp 50 to Rp 4,350 on the Jakarta Stock
Exchange on Friday. The Indonesian government has a 51 percent
stake in Telkom, with the remaining stake publicly held.