BANGKOK, May 7: Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS), Thailand’s top mobile phone operator, reported an 11 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, mainly due to strong growth in non-voice and data services.
AIS, 21 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, posted a net profit of 9.92 billion baht ($335 million), up from 8.93 billion a year earlier and slightly higher than the 9.6 billion baht average forecast from eight analysts polled by Reuters.
The country’s second-most-valuable company with a market value of $27 billion has about 50 percent of the cellular market in Thailand, ahead of Total Access Communication’s (TAC) roughly 30 percent.
Last month, TAC reported a 1 percent rise in first-quarter net profit and raised its 2013 investment budget to 12.5 billion baht from 8 billion baht to speed up its 3G network expansion.
Earnings growth at AIS is expected to be lower in the second quarter due to higher costs as it officially launched new 3G services in 20 provinces in May and aims to expand coverage to all of Thailand’s 77 provinces by the end of the year. ($1 = 29.5950 Thai baht)
(AGENCIES)
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