Bakrie Telecom nine-months net profit rise 53% (Indonesia)
PT Bakrie Telecom has reported its nine months results, and as per them, company’s net profit increased 53% to US$16.6 million during the first nine months of the year compared to the previous year, due to a rising number of subscribers.
According to the CDMA-based telecommunications unit of PT Bakrie & Brothers, the number of subscribers rose 23% from a year earlier to 12.1 million as the company extended its coverage area.
Gross revenue rose to US$285.6 million from 273.28 million a year earlier, whereas net revenue grew to US$229.6 million from 225.12 million.
According to the company, the net interest margin widened to 5.8% from 3.8% after the company took efforts to improve its efficiency.
Bakrie to acquire Telkom CDMA unit (Indonesia)
Indonesia’s PT Bakrie Telecom is set to acquire the CDMA unit of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia in a share exchange deal worth up to US$1 billion.
The deal is going to be the biggest in Indonesian telecoms since Qatar Telecom bought a stake in PT Indosat for US$1.35 billion in 2008 and would give Bakrie Telecom a dominant position in the fast-growing Indonesian CDMA market.
According to sources, both parties need to conduct one final valuation to complete the plan. The company expects the deal will be fully completed by early next year.
According to an anti-trust agency, Bakrie Telecom, controlled by PT Bakrie & Brothers, is already Indonesia’s second-biggest CDMA operator and the acquisition would give it more than 90% of the CDMA market.
Bakrie Telecom 1H net profit plunges by 96%
Indonesia’s second-biggest CDMA telecommunications operator PT Bakrie Telecom revealed its first half net profit dropped 96% to US$300,000 compared to last financial year.
Bakrie Telecom saw 95% shoot in its financing costs in the first half after it issue US$250 million worth of global bonds in the second quarter.
According to the company, its revenue increased 3.1% in the period compared to a year earlier, partly due to an increase in the number of subscribers.
The number of subscribers jumped to 25% to 11.1 million as of June 30 from 8.9 million a year ago.
Bakrie & Telkom in talk to merge CDMA business (Indonesia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Bakrie Telecom and Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesian state-owned telecommunications company, is in talks with each other over a potential merger of CDMA business units.
The talk has been confirmed by Telkom president Rinaldi Firmansyah, according to whom the companies are in talks about merging Telkom’s Flexi unit and Bakrie’s Esia unit, which provide CDMA services and the consolidation of the CDMA businesses could be a merger or an acquisition. Telkom is also in talks with other local operators about Flexi and is open to a variety of options.
However, Rahmat Djunaidi who is Bakrie Telecom director of corporate services has denied any kind of talk between the two companies over the consolidation of the CDMA businesses.
Telkom plans mergers for its CDMA unit (Africa)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Merger with domestic and foreign investors including players such as Bakrie Telecom’s Esia has been planned by Telkom Flexi, the CDMA unit of Telkom.
According to Telkom corporate secretary Agus Murdiyatno, the company thinks that Telkom Flexi business can expand more through business consolidation, either with another company or with another Telkom unit.
Company’s chief commissioner, Tanri Abeng, on the other hand has revealed that a telecoms company from North Korea is interested in partnering with Telkom to set up a joint venture CDMA business.
Telkom may acquire stake in troubled Bakrie Telecom (Indonesia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), Indonesia’s dominant telecommunication group plans to acquire a stake in rival telco Bakrie Telecom.
In order to settle debts of more than USD1.2 billion, Indonesian family-run business group Bakrie & Brothers announced in October 2008 that it was looking to sell stakes in several of its major subsidiaries. Telkom’s announcement confirmed the speculations regarding the ownership of the company and its financial trouble for more than a year.
However, according to a report by CommsUpdate, the group’s Esia brand of wireless communication products and services is planning to merge with or buy other rival telecom companies in 2010. The company has taken this move to deal with competition in the market which the company describes as an intense one.
Redknee Solutions Provide Bakrie Telecom with Significant Competitive Advantage(Press Release)
Redknee Inc., a
leading provider of innovative infrastructure software that monetizes
and personalizes services and content for mobile users, and PT Bakrie
Telecom Tbk (“Bakrie Telecom”), a pioneer in Indonesia’s affordable
wireless telecommunication services, today announced Bakrie Telecom has
significantly improved its competitive advantage with deployment of
Redknee’s Prepaid Voice and Messaging Solution. The Redknee solutions
power Bakrie Telecom’s Esia branded TalkTime service, SMS service and
marketing promotions including Circle of Friends and Family, and more.
The rapid pace of development in the Indonesian telecom market demands
that Bakrie Telecom provide new and innovative products such as their
Esia prepaid voice and text plan. Bakrie Telecom’s strategy incorporates
world-class, experienced partners with extensive research and
development capabilities such as Redknee.
“Our differentiation lies in our ability to provide relevant and
differentiated tariffs and services through customer focused disruptive
innovations,” said AG Rao, CTO at Bakrie Telecom. “Redknee helps us
utilize our infrastructure as a competitive advantage. It allows us to
reduce Operating Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenditures (CAPEX),
increase productivity and maintain higher levels of customer retention.”
Indonesia still has very low teledensity, with 4 percent for fixed and
20 percent for mobile. In comparison, the Philippines and China,
countries with similar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, have
mobile teledensities of 42 and 35 percent respectively (Source: Pyramid
Research, “Indonesia Country Outlook, August 2005). According to
analysts, the total number of telecom subscribers in Indonesia is
forecasted to double by 2010, exceeding 100 million subscribers.
“Redknee’s Converged Billing approach reduces OPEX and CAPEX by
converging all provisioning, transaction, charging, rating and billing
for supported services such as voice, data, messaging and mCommerce
under a single system and in real-time,” said Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO at
Redknee. “This allows operators such as Bakrie Telecom to deliver the
specific leading-edge services that attract new subscribers, reduce
subscriber churn and improve revenue opportunities.”
Bakrie Telecom’s Talktime campaign was launched in August 2005 and
generated an overwhelming response that propelled the Bakrie Telecom
brand to the number two position in the country (based on research by
Taylor Nielsen Research – TNS). As a result, their customer base of 1.3
million subscribers as of September 2006 represents a 167 percent
increase over December 2005′s 487,000 subscribers. Bakrie Telecom’s
monthly customer churn rate averages four percent, compared with the
industry’s average rate of 8 to 11 percent. Bakrie Telecom also enjoys
lower infrastructure costs than established telcos utilizing existing
networks.
Bakrie Telecom’s TalkTime service is built using Redknee solutions.
According to analysts and public records, this innovative service
generates significant improvement in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
The Redknee solutions also allowed Bakrie Telecom to program five
additional marketing promotions.
Redknee’s solutions power Bakrie Telecom’s Texting/Short Message Service
(SMS) as well as its “Circle of Friends and Family” (or Closed User
Group) features. A special rate is applied for conversations and text
messages between family members and friends of Esia prepaid card users.
About Bakrie Telecom
PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk has been operating since 1996 in Indonesia,
initially under the name of PT Radio Telepon Indonesia. The name of the
company was changed to PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk in 2003, and soon after
that launched a CDMA 2000-1X based telecommunication services under the
brand name “Esia”. To meet its objective to become a national operator,
Bakrie Telecom has embarked on an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)
collaboration with PT Indosat Tbk, with both companies agreeing to share
their network infrastructure. Bakrie Telecom has launched many
innovative products such as Gile Beneer, Rumpi Abiss, Hujan Duit and the
very effective TalkTime Campaign. Its focus on “value for money” and
innovation in our offerings has driven its corporate performance. As of
end of September 2006, the company grew its subscriber base by 327%,
from 307 thousand in September 2005 to 1.3 million, increased its gross
revenue by 131% from IDR 254 billion in September 2005to IDR588 billion,
and booked a net profit of IDR 52 billion compare to IDR 112 billion net
loss in September 2005. Bakrie Telecom went public and listed in The
Jakarta Stock Exchange in February 2006.
About Redknee
Twenty-six of the world’s leading mobile operators depend on Redknee’s
proven infrastructure software to deliver value-added services and
content to over 207 million subscribers. The converged revenue engine
enables operators to quickly bring to market personalized voice,
messaging and content services in real-time. Redknee allows operators
and brand owners to maximize their differentiation and revenue while
reducing expenditures by integrating with existing environments. The
subscriber experience is improved with Redknee’s self-care, loyalty, and
analytics that deliver the content and services subscribers want when
they want them. For more information, visit www.redknee.com.
Source- Wireless Mobile Telecom
