Colt sees profits rise, revenues drop
28-04-2008
by Emmet Ryan

For the second straight year, Colt Telecom has recorded an increase in profits in its first quarter in spite of a dip in overall revenues.

The telco posted a profit after tax of EUR8.6 million, up from EUR8.1 million last year. Revenues dropped 3.5 percent to EUR410.9 million, however. There was some good news on the revenue front as well though, as data revenues rose by 10.2 percent to EUR220.7 million, accounting for over half of all of Colt's revenues.

Outside of the boost on the data revenue front, it was a mixed bag for the telco in revenue terms. The SME and wholesale parts of the business saw revenues decrease but the major enterprise side of the business recorded an EUR8.4 million increase, up to EUR173.1 million in total.

The increase in profits was enough to please Colt's management, in spite of the continued drop in overall revenue. "I am pleased to report an encouraging start to the year. Our business has continued to progress with improved financial results, continued momentum in data revenue and further progress in our many operational programmes," said Rakesh Bhasin, chief executive of Colt Telecom, in a statement. "We expect 2008 to be another year of progress for our business."

On the whole it would appear that the results show a greater efficiency on the part of the telco in terms of recognising profitable revenue streams. The trend of falling revenues is hardly one that Colt will want to continue in the long run. It should however not be seen as a cause for alarm. If the firm can continue to work on improving this balance and continue to increase profits then a continuation of this pattern in the short term would be acceptable.

That said it's tough to get an idea of what Colt expects in the short term, never mind further down the line. Other than Bhasin's comments in the official release of the results the firm has remained largely tight lipped about the overall impact of the figures. ENN attempted to contact Colt's Irish operation for comment but the firm was unable to provide a spokesperson at the time of publication.

Colt, which provides telephony and IT services to businesses in Ireland and across Europe, currently employs 30 people in Ireland.