C&W profits fall 38% in fiscal H1

Jamaica's incumbent fixed line operator Cable & Wireless (C&WJ) posted a net profit of 822mn Jamaican dollars (US$14.8mn) for its 2004 fiscal first half, down 38% compared to the same year-ago period, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper reported. Revenues for the first half were 11.6bn dollars, down 11% compared to fiscal 1H03. The company held its annual shareholders' meeting on Tuesday and in its annual report for fiscal year 2003 blamed the "write down of impaired assets associated with land lines" for its third year of declining profits. The 2bn-dollar profit for fiscal 2003 was down 35% on the previous year. Full year revenues were up 10% on the previous year at 26.6bn dollars. However, financing costs doubled to 1.2mn dollars and adverse exchange rate effects took their toll on the company's US dollar denominated capital expenditures. To compensate for newcomer Digicel eating away at C&WJ's mobile business, the company has been diversifying revenue streams with an increased emphasis on Internet access and corporate data services. "Despite the fact that inflation was at about 9% last year our overall costs were reduced by over 500mn dollars [to 11bn dollars], which means a lot of the initiatives we took over the last three years are paying off and we are moving in the right direction," the paper quoted C&WJ president and chief executive Gary Barrow as saying.