Mobitel outdoes performance of corresponding quarter

Sri Lanka's national mobile telecommunication service provider, Mobitel, has got off the block for 2007 with poise. Sri Lanka Telecom's (SLT) fully owned subsidiary which has committed itself to becoming the country's leader in the next generation 3G service, has continued to make progress in all aspects of its business following the completion of its acquisition and commissioning of GSM services in January 2004.

Despite facing constraints on its capacity as a consequence of tremendously successful uptake in sales and customer acquisition, the first quarter results outdid the performance in the corresponding quarter of the previous year on every important measure.

The subscriber base increased by a phenomenal 88% in comparison with the results of the corresponding period in 2006. The revenue grew by 31%, reaching a total of Rs. 1.51 billion for the quarter.

The upward trend continued across the Company's profitability indicators, with Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) growing by 16%, Earnings before Interest and Tax growing by 306% and Profit after Tax turning around from a loss of Rs. 202 million to a profit of Rs. 27 million, reflecting an overall profit growth of 113%.

Mobitel's growth is underpinned by a strong overarching philosophy of value innovation, where technology, distribution, service packages, value-added services, and support are only a means to an end.

The end being caring for the customer by always having the customer's best interests at heart.

It's based not on being first to market, but on being right for market, if not being the best for the market.