Corrected: Bosnia's m:tel reports 10.2 pct rise in profits

Mtel ad Banja Luka

03/11/2014 14:42

(Corrects period to 9 months from Q3 in 1st paragraph) 
    SARAJEVO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Bosnia's second-largest 
telecoms firm, m:tel  TLKM.BJ , reported a 10.2 percent rise in 
profit to 86.8 million marka ($55.5 million) for the nine months 
to end-September from a year ago, while revenue increased 3.2 
percent to 367.6 million marka.  
    The company, based in Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic and 
owned by Serbia's state-owned Telekom Srbije, did not provide an 
explanation of its performance in its filing with the Banja Luka 
Stock Exchange. 
    Bosnia's current economic crisis so far "has had a very 
limited and indirect impact on the financial condition and 
performance of the group," it said.  
    The figures showed a slight drop in the number of its 
fixed-line and mobile subscribers and a modest rise in the 
number of subscribers to its Internet and integrated telecoms 
services. 
    Earlier this month, m:tel launched the Mtel Austria mobile 
virtual network operator (MVNO), investing 1.4 million euros 
following a capital increase last month. 
    The company also said that it had acquired a majority stake 
in Sarajevo-based telecoms operator Logosoft as of Oct. 1. 
    M:tel is one of three telecoms firms that operate in Bosnia, 
as well as Sarajevo-based BH Telecom and Mostar-based Hrvatske 
Telekomunikacije, both of which operate mainly in Bosnia's 
autonomous Bosniak-Croat federation.  
    Shares in m:tel closed down 0.62 percent at 1.61 marka 
before the filing was released. 
(1$=1.562 Bosnian marka) 
 
 (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; editing by Jane Baird) 
 ((daria.sito-sucic@thomsonreuters.com; +38733 295 484; Reuters 
Messaging: daria.sito-sucic.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BOSNIA M:TEL/RESULTS