Pacific Internet Reports Strong Revenue and Earnings Growth
Q1 2006 Profits Up 32% Year on Year -- The financial statement amounts in this report are in conformity with US GAAP. For convenience, the company's functional currency, the Singapore dollar, has been translated into US dollar amounts at the exchange rate of S$1.6157 to US$1.00. (Conversion rate as at March 31, 2006 from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.)
SINGAPORE, May 15, 2006 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Pacific Internet Limited (Nasdaq: PCNTF) (PacNet), the largest telco-independent Internet communications service provider by geographic reach in the Asia-Pacific, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006.
This marks the first successful quarter under the leadership of the new management team, including CEO, Teck-Moh Phey. PacNet reported net income that increased by 32.0% to S$2.4 million (US$1.5 million) compared with the same quarter last year. This demonstrates continued focus by the Company to improve revenues and earnings while achieving solid operational progress.
This first quarter's net income includes recurring one-off and non-cash charges amounting to S$0.8 million (US$0.5 million), including recurring stock-based compensation costs and consultancy or professional fees, along with one-off restructuring exercise costs. Excluding these charges, earnings for the quarter would have been S$3.1 million (US$1.9 million), or growth of 89% over last year.
Financial Highlights for First Quarter of Fiscal 2006
-- Record net income of S$2.4 million (US$1.5 million), up 32.0%
from S$1.8 million (US$1.1 million) in the first quarter of 2005;
-- Total revenues grew 9.7% to S$45.0 million (US$27.9 million), from
S$41.0 million (US$25.4 million) in the first quarter in 2005;
-- The Group continued its growth in the corporate business with 28.8%
year-over-year revenue growth;
-- Revenue growth from Value-Added Services (VAS) remained strong.
VAS Revenues surged by 100.3% to S$9.7 million (US$6.0 million) this
quarter compared with the same quarter last year;
-- Corporate VAS revenues nearly doubled this quarter. Corporate VAS
revenues grew by 119.4% compared with Q1 2005 and contributed 92.7%
of total VAS revenues;
-- Excluding the impact of the recurring one-off charges in 2006 and the
cost of sales, total expenses for the quarter have been reduced by 2%
over the same period last year;
-- As of March 31, 2006, the Group held cash and cash equivalents of
S$55.0 million (US$34.0 million).
Pacific Internet's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Teck-Moh Phey, said, "We are pleased with our results this quarter. Our performance reaffirms that Pacific Internet is firmly on a sustained growth track. Our business momentum has remained strong in spite of the challenges that the Company has faced. The inherent strengths of our business reinforce our confidence in the Company's future."
Mr. Phey continued, "Our outlook is positive with a strong momentum in technology leadership; our focus on value-added services and corporate business; our innovative products; our sales effectiveness and operational execution. We aim for significant success in the marketplace and by progressively expanding sales and marketing efforts, we plan to capitalize on the growing interest in the region."
Table I: Summary of Quarterly Financial Results
Performance Financials Quarter Ended y-o-y
(in US$ 000s) Q1 2006 Q1 2005 % variance
Revenues 27,850 25,398 9.7%
Net Income 1,456 1,103 32.0%
Corporate Business Revenues 20,598 15,997 28.8%
Value-Added Services Revenues 6,005 2,998 100.3%
Table II: Customer Base (In Nos.)
Corporate Base
Value
Leased Added
Country Operations Broadband Lines Dial Up Services
Singapore 8,603 553 6,472 755
Australia 12,886 235 261 21,171
Hong Kong 12,762 209 46,282 2,902
Philippines 175 181 257 31
Thailand 447 510 172 136
Others 3 163 72 140
Group's Customer Base - Total (As at 2006)
Grand Total 34,876 1,851 53,516 25,135
Group's Customer Base - Total (As at March 2005)
Grand Total 27,580 1,650 59,740 14,210
Note: Corporate Business customer base continues to grow in line with the
Group's focus in the corporate business segment; which grew by
11.8% over the prior year.
Consumer
Corporate Total
Business (Broadband Grand
Country Operations Total & Dial Up) Total
Singapore 16,383 104,667 121,050
Australia 34,553 38,436 72,989
Hong Kong 62,155 24,809 86,964
Philippines 644 68,477 69,121
Thailand 1,265 6,135 7,400
Others 378 742 1,120
Group's Customer Base - Total (As at March 2006)
Grand Total 115,378 243,266 358,644
Group's Customer Base - Total (As at March 2005)
Grand Total 103,180 338,190 441,370
Note: Corporate Business customer base continues to grow in line with the
Group's focus in the corporate business segment; which grew by
11.8% over the prior year.
Revenues
Revenues for the quarter increased 9.7% to S$45.0 million (US$27.9 million), compared with S$41.0 million (US$25.4 million) in the first quarter last year.
This improvement was achieved through the Group's continued focus on the higher-margin corporate business, strong take-up of its value-added services (VAS), and continuing growth in the broadband segment.
The Group's corporate business revenues grew by 28.8% from the same quarter last year. This contributed 74% of total revenues, compared to 63% in the first quarter of 2005.
Strong Sequential Growth of VAS Revenues:
VAS revenues for the quarter were S$9.7 million (US$6.0 million), a robust growth of 100.3% when compared to S$4.8 million (US$3.0 million) for the same period in 2005. This contributed to 21.6% of total revenues, compared to 11.8% in the same quarter last year.
Broadband Access -- Remains one of the key revenue drivers:
In terms of products, broadband access remained the key revenue driver for the Group in the first quarter of 2006, accounting for 46.8% of total revenues. Corporate Broadband Access revenues grew 10.9% year-over-year, contributing 72.5% to total broadband access revenues.
Leased Line Access:
First-quarter Leased Line Access revenues were S$5.9 million (US$3.7 million), a 13.1% growth compared to the same quarter last year.
Gross Profit Margin (%)
Gross profit margin was 50.8% in the first quarter of 2006, down from 54.2% in the first quarter 2005, as the Group continued to face competitive pricing pressure while gearing up to expand its high-speed Internet access offerings. The Group's strategy is to focus on profitability of services deriving sustainable revenues and on the corporate business.
Operating Costs and Expenses
Total operating expenses (excluding cost of sales) were contained at S$20.5 million (US$12.7 million), reflecting a minimal increase of 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. However, these expenses include recurring one-off and non-cash charges amounting to S$0.8 million (US$0.5 million), including stock-based compensation costs, one-off restructuring exercise and recurring consultancy or professional fees. Excluding the impact of these charges, total expenses for the quarter (excluding cost of sales) were reduced by 2% over the same period last year.
Cost of sales for the quarter increased 17.9% at S$22.1 million (US$13.7 million) compared to S$18.8 million (US$11.6 million) in the first quarter last year.
Sales and marketing expenses, which comprised largely of advertising and promotion expenses, were 46.9% lower at S$1.1 million (US$0.7 million) compared with the same quarter last year. Other general and administrative expenses increased 9.3% to S$4.0 million (US$2.4 million) during the quarter. This increase was primarily due to recurring one-off costs during 2006.
Robust Earnings Growth
Higher revenues, higher operating income, considerable increase in other income (primarily increase in net interest income, higher income from unconsolidated affiliates -- India & Thailand operations and others) and the Group's cost efficiencies contributed to the strong earnings growth during the quarter.
Net income for the quarter was S$2.4 million (US$1.5 million) compared to S$1.8 million (US$1.1 million) in Q1 2005. This represented robust growth of 32.0% or an increase of S$0.6 million (US$0.4 million).
Strong Cash Position
The Group's cash position remained strong with cash and cash equivalents of S$55.0 million (US$34.0 million). Cash generated by operating activities for 2006 was S$1.4 million (US$0.9 million), of which S$3.7 million (US$2.3 million) was used in investing activities, primarily for the acquisition of fixed assets. Cash outflow from financing activities amounted to S$0.9 million (US$0.6 million).
Additional Highlights:
-- Won the Gloria Jean's Coffee account with 340 coffee houses for
provision of multi-site IP based solutions to the retail and
franchise sectors. Pacific Internet's Asia Pacific footprint will
support Gloria Jean's Coffees growth plans and assist their entry
into new markets. (Release dated May 08, 2006)
-- Established collaboration with Intel Technology Asia Pte Ltd., the
world's leading silicon chipmaker, to work towards Singapore's first
mobile WiMax infrastructure. Through the collaboration, the two
companies look to advancing wireless adoption in Singapore and the
region, bringing wide-ranging benefits to businesses, residents,
content and application providers as well as government agencies.
(Release dated April 24, 2006)
-- Established collaboration with PCCW-HKT Networks Services Limited
(PCCW), a leading integrated communications company in the region,
to extend global network coverage in newer geographies. Under the
agreement, both companies have linked up their Internet Protocol
Virtual Private Networks (IP VPN) through a Network-to-Network
Interconnection (NNI) to enable IP, voice and data communications.
With this, Pacific Internet has doubled the availability of its
IP-VPN services to 14 countries and markets; where its customers
can now connect their branch offices, partners, suppliers and
clients in additional regions such as China, Japan, Korea,
Indonesia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
(Release dated March 06, 2006)
-- Entered into a voice and data contract with Harvey World Travel
(HWT) franchise group to provide voice and data services to the
franchise's Sydney based international head office and to as many
as 350 of its franchisees across Australia. (Release dated
February 27, 2006)
Mal schauen in welche Richtung das heute geht?? :-))
Grüsse Boxer