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Georgina Lee

Lower subscriber revenues and heavy 3G roll-out expenses pushed Sunday Communications into an interim net loss of $61.81 million in the last set of results not influencing the financial performance of its new parent firm, PCCW.

The mobile provider, now 77.6 per cent owned by PCCW, yesterday said handset subsidies dragged down mobile service revenue by 5.77 per cent to $490.95 million from a restated $521.03 million. Overall turnover fell 2.42 per cent to $561.06 million.

Subscribers grew a modest 7 per cent to 702,000 in  a saturated  market where  mobile penetration  is about 120 per cent.

Analysts are expecting the company to post a full-year net loss of up to $183 million.

PCCW declined to comment on Sunday's results, saying only that the acquisition would help the group realise its  ambition to offer converged telecommunications services allowing users to  switch seamlessly between its  fixed-line network and Sunday's mobile network.

'We have always wanted to return to the mobile sector, it's an important strategy,' PCCW managing director Jack So Chak-kwong said.

In a stock exchange filing, Sunday said 3G expenses climbed to $83 million from $13 million a year ago, lifting overall operating expenses 18.86 per cent to $315 million from $265 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation  for Sunday's 2G business declined 10.55 per cent to $144 million from $161 million a year ago.

Average revenue per user fell to $171 from $182. Mobile handset sales generated an operating loss of $26.12 million,  down from a loss of $29.45 million  previously.

Loss per share was 2.07 cents, compared to earnings of 0.58 cent a year earlier.



3G costs leave Sunday in the red