Exatel: first operational profit in two years
2007-04-13
The revenues of Exatel, a state-controlled alternative telecommunications operator, increased in 2006 by 4.75% in comparison with the previous year and stood at PLN 520.59m (€137m). The company has said by way of explanation that the improvement was based on increased sales of voice services and line rental.
The operator has also reported an operational profit of PLN 25.2m (€6.6m), whereas it suffered losses during the previous two years. Despite this, the company was PLN 12.3m (€3.2m) in the black in 2006. Exatel emphasises, however, that the net result for 2005 was assisted by the sale of a small stake in the mobile operator Polkomtel to Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE), the national grid operator and the owner of Exatel.
In 2007 Exatel plans to look for new clients among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is considering the use of WiMAX technology to overcome the so-called ”last mile problem” and provide telecommunications services to end users.