Dialog Telekom to raise Rs 5b for Capital Expenditure

Hiran H. SENEWIRATNE

Dialog Telekom (DT) is now in the process of going for a preference share issue to raise Rs 5 billion for a major expansion programme, the Stock Market, sources said.

The company is now moving towards increasing their capital expenditure for future expansion activities. This is one of the reasons to make this preference issue in the future. The industry sources said that this issue only for the international market due to the current economic condition in the country.

However, the Dialog senior officials said that this preference share issue is not only for the foreigners but also open for locals.

This issue came into surface following the approval came from the shareholders, which they obtained approval through an Extra Ordinary General Meeting recently to raise this Rs 5 billion for the company’s further expansion drive.

Under this shares of Rs 1 each issued at Rs 1 for a share to everybody, Therefore Dialog expect extend into bankers, investors, financial institutions to raise Rs 5 billion. According to the Dialog official said that the Dialog Group per se the profit growth, have come down and Dialog Telekom profits have gone up during this quarter.

Dialog Telekom and its subsidiaries (Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt.) Ltd and Dialog Television (Pvt.) Ltd (formerly Asset Media Ltd) will hereinafter be referred to collectively, as “the Group”.

DT recorded a PAT of Rs. 7.98 Bn. up 7 per cent relative to the nine months ended 30 September 2006. Company earnings comprise in the main of contributions from Mobile Business supplemented by earnings accruing from the company’s International Business Operations and Internet Service Provider Operations.

DT continued to deliver robust growth recording a 40 per cent increase in mobile subscribers Year on Year (YoY) and Revenue.

The performance at DT was delivered not withstanding revenue mitigating externalities mainly the disruption to services in the Northern and Eastern Province of Sri Lanka during the first half of 2007.