NTT profits off 10%

Japanese ex-incumbent NTT today announced a 10 per cent cut in operating profits in the quarter to the end of June. Profits were Y359.18bn (£1.6bn) on revenues of Y2.62tn, with the lion’s share-65 per cent-contributed by the mobile division, NTT DoCoMo. By contrast, the fixed-line group lost 960,000 PSTN customers in the three months to June 30, and the ISP division lost some 9,000 subscribers in the same period.

The FTTH (Fibre to the Home) push, however, was showing results, with 657,000 subscribers added in the quarter to reach a total of 45.65 million. Despite this, the world’s biggest carrier by revenue missed a consensus target of Y365bn. Net profits were Y144.68bn, down 18.5 per cent. Shares closed ahead of the results down 0.7 per cent.

NTT management refused to be swayed by poor figures. Prior predictions of Y500bn yen in net income for 2006 were reiterated, as was a sales target of Y10.8tn.