iTouch is expecting its local and Irish operations to turn a profit in the current financial year, and says the third-generation and third cell licence will boost its earnings.
Wayne Pitout, iTouch MD, says the London Stock Exchange-listed, Cape Town-based mobile provider is well within its original targets to achieve profitability from its South African and Irish operations in the current financial year.
It reported a lb9.1 million operating loss before other operating expenses for the year to December 2000. However, Pitout says the company has a three-year turnaround model, and its local and Irish operations are well in place to cross the finish line in the black.
Pitout says the company is looking to become cash-positive in its existing locations by 2004, adding that iTouch has enough money from its August 2000 London listing to carry operations - a healthy lb48 million currently sits in the bank.
"We haven`t touched the money we raised from our IPO, so we are confident of future operations," says Pitout.
As far as expansion goes, iTouch has gone into a 25% revenue sharing deal with MIHL, taking its offerings into Greece, Indonesia and Thailand this year, and China in 2002.
Pitout expressed particular pleasure in this deal, saying that with MIHL funding both the operational and capital expenditure, this offers iTouch low risk international expansion.
He adds that this method of modest cash expansion will become the blueprint for further international deals.
Pitout says the new third-generation mobile offerings will mean the possibility of an extension to its existing offerings, a smarter interface for its customers, which Pitout says iTouch`s 75 software developers are working on.
Similarly, Pitout dismisses the notion that the third cellular licence will dilute the company`s local revenue stream.
"Our voice service in SA is our own, and our SMS messaging system can be done through both Vodacom and MTN. Anything that increases the amount of cell users is an opportunity for us."
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