Maltacom to stop publishing quarterly financial statements

Maltacom yesterday announced that it would no longer publish quarterly financial statements for commercial reasons.

The group would instead stick to its statutory regulations and publish financial statements every year.

The decision was taken so competitors would not be able to make use of information to Maltacom's disadvantage.

Speaking during a meeting for stockbrokers and financial intermediaries to announce the company's and group's financial second quarterly statement at Le Meridien Phoenicia Hotel, Maltacom chairman Maurice Zarb Adami said that while the turnover was up by 8.2 per cent to Lm26 million, the profit after tax dipped by 6.4 per cent to Lm3.7 million when compared with the same period last year.

"The results for the first half of 2002 continue the trends established in recent times with increases in mobile telephony taking over some of the business from fixed line calls. In spite of this and in spite of decreasing mobile tariffs, the group's revenue continues to grow.

"The group's mobile company, Go Mobile, has continued to increase its customer base while the lead has been maintained in value added services, data transmission and internet."

Mr Zarb Adami also said the company had still not sold its 20 per cent shareholding in Vodafone.

Maltacom should have sold its shares by June last year, six months after it launched its own mobile telephony company Go Mobile.

Answering questions from reporters, Mr Zarb Adami said that there had been several bidders for the shares who had not yet completed their due diligence exercise.

Asked why it was taking Maltacom so long to sell these shares, the chairman said one of the reasons for the delay was a lack of cooperation from a number of parties, including Vodafone.

Mr Zarb Adami said that Vodafone was not making available the necessary details about the company for bidders to be in a position to make their bids.

However, when contacted Vodafone Malta managing director Joe Grioli said Vodafone had provided Maltacom's bankers - the Bank of Valletta and Rothschilds, the merchant bankers - with the information and schedule for the implementation of events leading to sale of the shares.

Vodafone has a pre-emptive right over the shares, that is the company has the right to match the price a buyer could put up and buy the shares itself.

Asked whether such a right would put off potential buyers, Mr Grioli said that pre-emptive right was an international practice in the sale of shares.

Once the bidders present their due diligence exercise, they would be able to sit with Vodafone to get other details about the mobile telephony company.

Informed sources said there were three bidders for the shares, including international bidders. The shares could bring in millions of liri for Maltacom.

Although Vodafone would be interested in buying the shares, both Maltacom and Vodafone were still waiting to see what kind of price the bidders would come up with.

"Maltacom are in breach of the agreement which gave them the right to set up their mobile company because they (Maltacom) should have got rid of their shares in Vodafone according to that agreement.

"The regulator should have looked into this situation," Mr Grioli said.

Answering more questions from the floor, Mr Zarb Adami said that Maltacom expected to get a fair price for the Vodafone shares and that this would be determined by market demand.

The 20 per cent share in Vodafone had been a "free ride" for Telemalta, Maltacom's predecessor. The government had imposed this condition on Vodafone as a prerequisite to being given a licence to operate a mobile phone service.

Vodafone started operations in Malta on July 25, 1990, and currently has over 155,000 subscribers.

Continuing with his overview of the financial statement, Mr Zarb Adami said Go Mobile was doing well and now had 95,000 customers.

Although business from fixed line telephony had dropped, Maltacom was looking into ways and means to make the most of its fixed line infrastructure.

Fixed lines provide the company with the ability to transport faster data communication and with additional investment in new technology, the company would be able to transmit four television channels simultaneously, providing households that had more than one TV set with more choice.