30 Jun 2005

Fiji telecommunications company announces lower profits

10:20 am on 30 June 2005

Fiji's Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited has reported a net profit of 14-point-7 million US dollars for the financial year ending in March, down 42-percent over the previous year.

Amalgamated Telecom Holdings owns the majority shares in all four of Fiji's telecommunications companies, each of which has a monopoly in its own field.

The parent company has attributed the sharp decline in profits to the nearly 7-million US dollars paid out to 300 Telecom Fiji workers who have opted to take voluntary redundancy packages.

There's also been a provision of nearly 2-million US dollars for other personnel costs, mainly retirement benefits.