Telkomsel's 2004 net income up 29%

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The nation's largest mobile operator PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), which holds more than 50 percent of the cellular market here, reported on Monday a 29 percent increase in net income in 2004 to Rp 5.47 trillion.

An addition of 6.7 million subscribers during the year, and a 66 percent growth in revenues generated from SMS and other mobile data services all contributed to the profit surge, according to a press statement.

Revenues from SMS and other mobile data services hit Rp 3.62 trillion, which constitutes about 25 percent of the company's net operating revenue, which stood at Rp 14.77 trillion.

"Telkomsel has been able to take up the majority of the new subscribers entering the market in 2004. This demonstrates that we deliver what customers are looking for," Telkomsel President Director Kiskenda Sriahardja said in the statement.

As of the end of 2004, Telkomsel's customers nationwide reached 16.3 million. The figure has in fact grown by around 1.6 million more in the first quarter of the year, pushing the company's market share up to 55 percent.

To bolster its performance, Kiskenda said that the company "expects to invest a further $700 million this year to boost our network, all financed from the company's internal resources."

During 2004, Telkomsel injected $603 million in investment on its network infrastructure and other facilities.

The company is 65 percent owned by the state telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), with Singapore Telecom holding the remaining 35 percent.