Flat Chat

May 3, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's top celco Dialog Telekom revenue grew 26 percent but consolidated profits remained flat in the March quarter as newly acquired subsidiaries dragged its bottom-line down. Group profit after tax for the three months ended March 2007, was 2,426 million rupees against 2,397 million rupees last year, up one percent with revenue growing to 7,506 million rupees for the quarter from 5,952 million.

Without the subsidiary, Dialog Broadband, the firm's profits grew by 11 percent to 2,565 million rupees, but the company expects long term growth from recent acquisitions, Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) and Asset Media Group (AM).

Dialog Broadband is expected to build a CDMA based fixed wireless network and Broadband Wireless Access for internet.

"Asset Media recently commenced a satellite based pay television service targeting the future earnings potential of the similarly under-penetrated pay television market," Dialog said.

"Both subsidiaries are expected to deliver robust revenues and healthy margins over time as the market and infrastructure development phase in which the subsidiaries are engaged in at the present, evolves into a growth and revenue generating p