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Foreign contributions to drive AKN profit(Business Times (Malaysia) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) AKN Messaging Technologies Bhd, which provides mobile messaging services and applications, is poised to return to profit this year helped by better contribution from its overseas markets. For the year to June 30 2007, the company made a net loss of RM4.37 million, mainly due to provisions for doubtful debts and the fall in value of its investments. Chief operating officer Lester Neil Francis said the company would begin operations in Bangladesh with a partner by the first quarter of 2008. "We'll be replicating the business that we have in other countries. Our deal in Pakistan has proven to be very successful for us and we see the same trend in Bangladesh as the market is growing," he said. He added that they are exploring other countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cananda. "We're working with partners in Canada and will be their technology partner and advisors," he said. Francis said overseas operations contribute 70 per cent to the company's profits but could further grow another 10 per cent. "The key performers (for earnings) will be Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand for the next year," he said. He said Pakistan was a growing entity with mobile subscription growing to 70 million from 2.5 million three years ago. "While most of the subscribers are for voice based services and the data services users are less than five per cent, the market for the latter is growing," he said. For the first quarter to September 30, net profit jumped 55 per cent to RM795,000. Revenue rose 29 per cent to RM8.1 million. The company plans to change its name to M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd. Copyright 2007 The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd, Source: The Financial Times Limited |