RomTelecom profits down 84% in Q4, 2005

RomTelecom made a 25 million-euro net profit in the fourth quarter of 2005, down 84% compared with the same quarter of 2004, 156.6 million euros, so that the full-year profit climbed by merely 11% to 237.9 million euros. A press release by the Greek group OTE, which controls 54.01% of the Romanian telecommunications company, says the operating expenses before amortisation and taxes increased by 8% in the above-mentioned interval and personnel costs rose by 41%. The operating revenues from October through December 2005 progressed by 6.5% to 235 million euros. The main causes for this trend are to do with the increase in the revenues from data services, interconnections and line lease. RomTelecom made total net profit of 237.9 million euros in the whole of 2005, an increase of 11.9% compared with 2004. At the same time, operating revenues progressed by 10.3% to 925.7 million euros. The national telephony services accounted for the bulk of the revenues, 636.5 million euros, followed by other revenues, 144.8 million euros, and international telephony, 144.2 million euros. Mobile telephony services contributed 0.2 million euros. On December 31, 2005, RomTelecom had 3.95 million lines, 8.8% lower than at the end of the previous year, 4.33 million lines. The management of the telecommunications company continued to implement the restructuring programme in 2005. Therefore each employee had come to manage 303 phone lines at the end of last year, over 26% more than in December 2004. ZF