Mobile Switch

Aug 15, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka Telecom's June 2010 net profit shot up 105 percent to 769 million rupees from a year ago as earnings from its mobile unit and broadband made up for falling voice revenues, a stock exchange filing said.



Basic earnings per share rose to 0.43 rupees from 0.21 rupees the year before.

Group revenue for the second quarter rose five percent to 12.

36 billion rupees compared to the same quarter of previous year. The bulk of operating profit came from SLT's mobile subsidiary, Mobitel, which has turned around after a price war caused heavy losses among all the island's mobile phone operators.

SLT's June 2010 quarter earnings included 151 million rupees from a refund of the Telecommunication Development Charge (TDC), a levy paid by operators to the government at the rate of 0.038 US dollars per international incoming traffic minute.

Operators can claim two-thirds of the TDC within three years against the cost of development of its telecommunications network in un-served and underserved areas.

The SLT statement said the Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions has been informed that the Ministry of Finance and Planning has halved the International Telecommunication Operators' levy from July