Hutchison Telecom sees H1 net loss 100-110 mln aud

SYDNEY (AFX) - Hutchison Telecommunications Australia Ltd said it expects to book a net loss of 100-110 mln aud in the six months to June. Chief executive officer Barry Roberts-Thomson said "the market will remain challenging in the lead up to mobile number portability with continued pressure from subscriber acquisition cost and average revenue per user." Chairman Canning Fok said the establishment of its business in Australia will require further capital. Speaking at the company's AGM, Fok said: "We currently expect that a further 1 bln aud of equity capital will be needed over the next 3-5 years and it is important that you understand that Hutchison Whampoa is fully committed to underwriting that if we need (it) to." "As we've always done, we will remain flexible (in) our approach to the structure of such financing agreement, doing our very best to ensure that financing is available when requested, balancing the interests of all shareholders with needs of the company," he said. Hutchison Telecom also said it is on track to achieve 400,000 subscribers by end 2002. At 2:50 pm, Hutchison Telecom was up 0.08 aud or 12.90 pct at 0.70. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 19.2 points at 3,349.8.

Related stock : (NIL)