Satellite operator Thaicom hopes to turn in a profit this year, with performance driven mainly by growing demand for the services of its flagship iPSTAR broadband satellite, chief financial officer Tanadit Charoenchan said yesterday.
However, whether the company can achieve a profit also depends on the performance of its telecom subsidiary Mfone in Cambodia, which is experiencing tougher competition, he said.
Thaicom expects iPSTAR, whose footprint covers 14 AsiaPacific countries, to clinch additional deals to sell a huge volume of bandwidth capacity in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in the second half of the year.
It has already sold bulk bandwidth capacity to Japan's major telecom and media firm Softbank, and has realised sales revenue from the deal since April.
Thaicom reported a net loss of Bt151 million and a Bt22million foreignexchange loss for the second quarter, compared to a net profit of Bt199 million and a forex gain of Bt 364 million in the same period last year.
The company posted consolidated revenue of Bt3.43 billion for the first half and a net loss of Bt308 million. Revenue from iPSTAR was Bt1.2 billion, up 19.5 per cent year on year, due to the 43.6per cent growth of bandwidth revenue contributed by the Japanese, Australian, New Zealand and Malaysian markets.
Revenue from its Thaicom 2 and Thaicom 5 broadcasting satellites was a combined Bt1.15 billion in the first half, up 0.1 per cent year on year.
Thaicom made a fullyear net loss of Bt471 million in 2009.
In a separate matter, Thaicom chief executive officer Arak Chonlatanon said Thailand should move quickly to maintain the country's reservation right for the 50.5degreeseast orbital slot, which has high commercial potential.
The Cabinet is expected to consider next week a proposal by the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to move the Thaicom 2 satellite from its present orbital slot of 78.5 degrees east to the 50.5 degrees east slot in order to maintain the country's reservation right.
The move would extend the right by two years from the upcoming expiration date at the end of this year.
It was Thaicom that recommended to the ministry that it should maintain the reservation right by moving Thaicom 2.
The ICT Ministry regards the 50.5degreeseast slot as very important, as a satellite beaming data from that position can cover the Middle East and Africa. The country reserved the orbital slot a long time ago but has never used it.
According to International Telecommunication Union regulations, if a country does not use an orbital slot it has reserved for a certain period, other countries have the right to apply for it.
Arak said Thaicom 2, which will be deorbited this year, had enough fuel to move to the 50.5degreeeast slot and that there would be no cost involved in such a manoeuvre.
When asked if Thaicom planned to build a new satellite and send it to the slot in the near future, Arak said it depended on whether the ICT Ministry, which owns the company's satellite concession, would permit Thaicom to do so.
The company has finished migrating Thaicom 2 customers to the Thaicom 5 satellite.