Telecom Italia 1H net profit drops 17 percent due to shrinking customer base, handset sales

September 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Companies in the telecom and auto sectors have witnessed robust growth in turnover despite not increasing their advertisement budgets, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocam), an industry lobby. In a study titled "Cost-Benefit Analysis of Advertisement Campaigns", Assocham said: "The amount spent on the marketing expenses in proportion to the sales has undergone a substantial decline in 2008-09." However, it added that Indian telecom and auto companies, "despite spending less on their advertisement and promotion campaigns, were able to increase their sales volume significantly".

September 16th, 2009 News Corp.'s Sky Italia sues Berlusconi's MediasetNEW YORK — News Corp.'s Sky Italia has sued two units of Italian broadcaster Mediaset, the latest step in an ongoing battle over pay TV between media moguls Rupert Murdoch at News Corp. and Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister.

August 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom subscriber base increased to 479.07 million at the end of July from 464.82 million a month before, according to official data released here Thursday. The data released by the sectoral watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said the overall teledensity in the country reached 41.08 percent in the period under review.

July 30th, 2009 Amkor 2Q profit declines 86 percent as sales dropCHANDLER, Ariz. — Microchip assembly and test company Amkor Technology Inc.

July 23rd, 2009 Dutch telecom KPN's Q2 profit up 4.8 pctAMSTERDAM — Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch telecommunications company, said Thursday its net profit rose 4.8 percent in the second quarter due to growth at its German mobile telephone business and better margins in the Netherlands. Net profit was euro370 million ($526 million), up from euro353 million.

July 22nd, 2009 Alliance Data's net drops 37 pctSAN FRANCISCO — Alliance Data Systems Corp.'s second-quarter profit dropped 37 percent, more severely than Wall Street expected, while sales slumped. The company said Wednesday it earned $29.4 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $46.9 million, or 60 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

July 21st, 2009 Precision Castparts 1Q profit drops 13 percentPORTLAND, Ore. — Precision Castparts Corp., which makes metal components and products, said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 13 percent as sales tumbled on a volatile aerospace market and soft overall demand.

May 8th, 2009 MetroPCS 1Q profit rises, tops forecastDALLAS — Wireless carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter profit jumped 11 percent, helped by a growing subscriber base as it expanded into the New York City and Boston areas.

April 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Telecom major Bharti Airtel's net profit for the quarter ended March 31 rose nearly 8 percent to Rs.20.48 billion, as compared to Rs.18.99 billion in the same period the previous year. Total income too increased about 30 percent to Rs.102.96 billion from Rs.79.29 billion in the period under review, the company said Wednesday.

April 28th, 2009 NTT DoCoMo's annual profit falls 3.9 percentTOKYO — NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's top mobile phone carrier, said Tuesday its annual net profit slipped 3.9 percent to 471.9 billion yen ($4.9 billion) as the recession hit sales of handsets. The company sold 20 million handsets during the fiscal year ended March 31, down 21.8 percent year-on-year as more consumers opted to keep their old handsets during tough economic times.

April 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - When most sectors are bearing the brunt of global economic slowdown, India's telecom industry is continuing with its high growth saga, thanks to the expanding subscriber base in the rural areas. India last month saw the highest number of subscriber addition, 15.87 million, about three times the population of countries like Finland, Denmark and Singapore.

April 20th, 2009 China Telecom 1Q profit down 27.4 percentBEIJING — China Telecom Ltd. said Monday its first quarter profit plunged 27.4 percent as demand for traditional fixed-line telephone services weakened.

April 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With phone operators expected to run out of 10-digit mobile numbers soon, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is now considering an 11-digit numbering system. 'With so many telecom service providers and a growing customer base, the need for new numbers and their consequent shortage will be felt soon,' a senior telecom official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS Saturday.

February 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's telecom watchdog has asked mobile telephony operators to prevent network congestion and ensure calls by subscribers do not get disconnected abruptly. Taking note of complaints regarding what are called 'call drops', the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), has written to telecom operators to ensure deficiency in service does not inconvenience subscribers.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Department of Telecom's (Dot) decision to ban mobile phones that do not have the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) - a unique 15-digit identity code for handsets - has been deferred for 'some time', an official said. 'The order is still pending with the (telecom) ministry.