CAT expects lower profit
CAT Telecom has targeted Bt31 billion in revenues next year but expects a decline in its net profit to Bt1.5 billion, due mainly to a forecasted sharp drop in international-call revenues.
Senior executive vice president Kitisak Sriprasert said that while next year's revenues are expected to be the same as this year, the net profit would drop from this year's expected Bt4 billion.One main reason is an expected decline in its international-call revenues to about Bt7 billion next year from an estimated Bt11.3 billion this year, due to imminent competition from new players. Of total revenues forecast next year, more than Bt7 billion will be from international calls, more than Bt200 million from e-business services, more than Bt1 billion from Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 1-x cellular services and more than Bt7 billion from data-communications services. The concession fee will contribute more than Bt10 billion, the same as this year. Next year's e-business revenues, including from an e-auction service, will double from this year, while those from data-communications services are expected to rise Bt1 billion from the Bt6 billion expected this year. Next year, CAT will experience an additional cost of Bt500 million for an early-retirement programme aimed at reducing its existing staff of more than 5,000. It will allocate Bt900 million of its budget for marketing campaigns of all services, of which Bt300 million will be for CDMA services. The CAT's executive panel had proposed a 2007 revenue target of Bt29 billion for the board's approval, but the board asked the panel to revise the target upward to Bt31 billion - the same revenue figure expected this year. Usanee Mongkolporn The Nation
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