Impsat 1Q01 Revenues Rise 51% to US$88.7mn

Argentina-based regional broadband services provider Impsat Fiber Networks (NASDAQ: IMPT) reported 1Q01 net revenues of US$88.7mn, a 51% increase over the same quarter of 2000. Of that amount, US$6.6mn corresponds to non-recurring revenues from the delivery of network infrastructure. Net revenues from services for the quarter totaled US$82.2mn, an increase of 39.8% compared to the same period of 2000, and up 12.0% from 4Q00, according to an Impsat statement. Revenues from services in Brazil for the quarter totaled US$12.9mn, an increase of 153.1% and 36.9% compared to 1Q00 and 4Q00, respectively. Total revenues in Argentina for 1Q01 were US$32.6mn, an increase of 21.5% compared to 1Q00. Management predicts Argentina's recession to continue for the remainder of 2001, but nevertheless expects revenues from services for 2001 to grow by 30% compared to the full year 2000. Beyond 2001, management expects revenues from services to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of over 35% for the period 2002-2004. Impsat reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders for 1Q01 of US$68.3mn, an increase of 134.8% compared to the same period in 2000. The loss per share for the quarter was US$0.75 compared to US$0.36 per share for the same quarter of 2000. EBITDA for the quarter was US$4.3mn, compared to negative EBITDA of US$4.8mn in 4Q00, the company said. Positive EBITDA was attributed to the migration of services to the Impsat's regional broadband network. Management remains committed to its target EBITDA of above US$35mn for 2001. As of March 31, 2001, Impsat had cash and short-term investments of US$231.6mn. The company's outstanding debt totaled US$997.6mn. During 1Q01, Impsat's corporate customer base totaled over 2,950 clients, an increase of 11.2% from December 31, 2000. Impsat's infrastructure deployment during 1Q01 entailed investments in fixed assets of US$125.4mn, an increase of 49.2% from the same period in 2000. Of this amount, approximately US$57.1mn was invested in Argentina, US$31.6mn was invested in Brazil and US$14.6mn was derived from the purchase of international submarine capacity. Impsat is in the process of completing the 2,500 route kilometre Argentina-Brazil link, and already has half of the duct-work completed (1,240) and over 380 route-kilometers of fiber threaded. Management estimates that total capital expenditures for 2001 will range between US$280mn and US$295mn, down from the US$320mn-340mn forecast in a March conference call. For the following three years, Impsat estimates its annual CapEx to range from US$100mn to US$130mn. Impsat has operations in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, the US, Chile and Peru.