MONTREAL-Cellular network buildout and acquisitions of specialized mobile radio operations helped Telesystem International Wireless Inc. expand its subscriber base by 39 percent during the first quarter ended March 31, the company said. TIW had 566,400 subscribers at the end of the period, compared with 407,200 subscribers Dec. 31 and 196,300 at the end of first-quarter 1997.
Revenues for the recently completed quarter were $46 million, nearly 12 times the $3.9 million reported in first-quarter 1997. Cellular services, primarily from Romania and Brazil, accounted for 70 percent of the revenue increase. TIW’s cellular subscriber base increased from 143,000 at the end of 1997 to 203,900 at the end of the first quarter.
TIW reported a net loss of $34.5 million compared with $8.4 million in the first quarter of 1997. Higher costs related to expanding cellular operations in Brazil and Romania, higher depreciation and amortization as well as pre-operating expenses associated with deploying a digital SMR network in the United Kingdom contributed to the enlarged net loss, said TIW. However, the net loss was down 17 percent from the $41.4 million posted in the previous quarter.
