Political, regulatory risks to GT&T's service provision licence could impact on ATN's financial performance, operational results
... ATN Third quarter report
Stabroek News
November 24, 2006
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Atlantic Tele Network (ATN) the parent company of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has said that "significant political and regulatory risk" confronting GT&T's exclusive licence to provide local exchange and long distance telephone service in Guyana could be an important factor in its future financial performance and overall operational results. ATN made this disclosure in its third quarter report for the period ending September 2006 in which it declared revenue of US$41.3m, an increase of US$16.3m or 65 per cent over the same period last year.

ATN says that other factors associated with its local subsidiary that could impact on its financial performance include "significant tax disputes" between GT&T and the Guyana Revenue Authority. (GRA)

While ATN's Chief Executive Officer Michael Prior has described the reporting period as "an excellent quarter" ATN also says that any significant decline of long distance calls made from Guyana could also impact on the company in the future. According to ATN's third quarter report the company's wireless revenue increased from US$5.1m to US$16.7m due, primarily, to its Comnet wireless roaming service "and to a lesser extent," to growth in GT&T's subscriber base. ATN's operations in Guyana and the US Virgin Islands are also credited with making important contributions to local telephone and data revenue earnings which increased by US$1.3m or 19 per cent.

The report also says that GT&T's access lines increased from approximately 111,000 to 117,000 and that the company's broadband internet service was increasing rapidly.

Up to the end of September 2006 ATN's long distance dialling revenue, all of which is generated by its Guyana subsidiary had reached US$11,8m an increase of 4 per cent over the US$11.4 per cent generated during the same period last year with inbound minutes representing 80 per cent of the long distance dialling revenue. Meanwhile ATN says the increased sales and marketing efforts and increased network costs at GT&T associated with additional access lines and subscribers as well as the expansion of its high speed data network has contributed to its operating expenses so far this year. According to the report GT&T accounted for US$1.5m of the US$2.1m increase in operating expenses.