Telecommunication company SmarTone recorded an operating loss in the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of HK$11.72 million (US$1.5 million) for the first six months of fiscal 2015/2016, the company revealed yesterday in an interim report submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The performance of SmarTone in Macau was worse than in the first half of the fiscal year of 2014/2015, when an operating profit of HK$4.06 million was recorded. Still in MSAR, the company increased its revenue in the first half of 2015/2016 by 22.12 per cent year-on-year to HK$392.73 million from HK$321.60 million. Overall, considering the Hong Kong and Macau markets, the net profit of the company decreased 13.6 per cent year-on-year during the period to HK$402.7 million from HK$466.3 million. In the neighbouring HKSAR, SmarTone generated an operating profit of HK$598.2 million, down 3.3 per cent year-on-year from HK$618.5 million. Regarding revenue in Hong Kong, it generated HK$10.16 billion, up 18.8 per cent year-on-year from the HK$8.55 billion generated in the first half of 2014/2015. “The customer number stands at 1.97 million, a 1 per cent increase over the previous six months while the average mobile postpaid churn rate improved year-on-year to 0.9 per cent. The Company continued to exercise cost discipline without compromising quality, leading to reduction in operating costs, depreciation and amortization”, Chairman Raymond Kuok Ping-Iuen said of the past six months of operation. “Despite increasing economic uncertainties, continuous increase in customer data usage offers opportunities for sustainable growth. With a strong brand and a robust financial position, the Company is well placed to capture opportunities and bring value to both customers and shareholders over the long term”, he said about future prospects. SmarTone is one of the four mobile telecommunications operators in Macau, the others being CTM, Hutchinson and China Telecom.
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