Brazil's Telebras unit Jan nets for wireline only
Reuters, Tuesday, March 24, 1998 at 18:49
BRASILIA, March 24 (Reuters) - January earnings released
Monday by subsidiaries of Brazilian telecommunications giant
Telebras (SAO:TEL_.P) did not include results for cellular
services, officials said Tuesday.
"This was because of the split," said a spokesman for
Telerj (SAO:TER_.P), Telebras' unit providing wireline services
in Rio de Janeiro state.
Telebras' state-level operating subsidiaries were not
divided, in preparation for the federal system's planned sale
this year, into separate wireline and cellular companies until
January 30.
But preliminary January balance sheets released to the
market Monday already excluded results for mobile phone
services, officials at Telesp (SAO:TLS_.P), Telerj, Telemig
(SAO:TMG) and other wireline subsidiaries told Reuters.
"Because it occurred in January, the numbers from that
month already reflect that split," said a spokeswoman for
Telesp, which provides conventional wireline services in Sao
Paulo state.
Figures for the cellular A Band companies were not
immediately available. "They should be released in about a
week," said one official.
A spokesman at Telebras, meanwhile, said the federal
giant's preliminary holding company and consolidated January
results included all services offered by the system, including
wireline and cellular.
"Our figures are for all areas," he said.
Telebras, whose preferred share is the benchmark issue on
Brazil's stock exchanges and a leading American depositary
Receipt in New York, reported a consolidated January net profit
of 350 million reais.
It also said its holding company reported a net profit of
384 million reais. No comparative January 1997 figures were
provided.
Bank analysts said the failure of the subsidiaries to note
that January numbers did not include mobile phone spinoff
results confused the market.
"That was really the only thing new in the numbers and
initially it did cause some confusion in the market," one
analyst said.
Brazil plans to privatize Telebras in mid-1998. The company
has 26 state-level operators, six of which are traded on local
stock markets and required to report to the market quarterly,
and long-distance operator Embratel.
james.craig@reuters.com))
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
