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Bayan Telecommunications Inc. on Monday announced that its net
income surged last year on the back of higher revenues from its
voice services.
In a statement, the Lopez-led telecom company
said net income last year went up 319 percent to P2.2 billion from
P526 million in 2006. The company’s total revenue rose 15 percent
to P5.5 billion from P4.8 billion posted during the previous year.
Bayan said the revenue growth was driven
by a 10-percent gain in voice services, to P3.37 billion from P3.1
billion the previous year, with wireless landline contributing more
than 20 percent of the revenues.
Tunde Fafunwa, Bayan’s chief executive
consultant, said the company plans to roll out additional base
stations that would further expand coverage of its wireless landline
service in Metro Manila within the first half of 2008 and launch the
service in other provincial cities within the year.
“With more than 150,000 subscribers nationwide
and growing, we are expanding our coverage and launching more
value-added services,” Fafunwa said.
At present, Bayan’s wireless landline service
covers Metro Manila, Naga, Legaspi, Tacloban, Samar, Davao , Iloilo
, Cagayan De Oro, and General Santos cities.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., one of the
world’s leading telecommunications and networking equipment
suppliers, has been tapped as strategic partner for the project.
Fafunwa also said its core business of
residential landlines, DSL (digital subscribers line) and data
services to the corporate sector continues to deliver stable revenue
streams that can be funneled into further building the network
infrastructure, expanding service coverage, and elevating customer
service quality standards.
Data and Internet business gained 27 percent
over the previous year, at P2.06 billion compared with P1.62
billion.
Internet revenues breached the P1- billion
revenue mark, gaining 60 percent higher than the previous year of
P627 million.
-- Darwin G. Amojelar
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