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Thai AIS has record Q2 net profit, beats forecasts

Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:16am EDT

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BANGKOK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Thailand's top mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service PCL ADVA.BK, posted record quarterly earnings that beat expectations on Wednesday, driven by rising subscriber numbers and a one-off gain.

AIS, 21.4 percent-owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (STEL.SI), posted April-June net profit of 6.3 billion baht ($187 million), up 73 percent from 3.66 billion baht a year earlier.

The result beat an average 5.8 billion baht forecast in a Reuters survey of 10 analysts.

AIS, valued at $7.9 billion, has about 50 percent of the domestic mobile phone market. It booked a gain of 1.2 billion baht from a settlement with rival Total Access Communication DTAC.BK (TACC.SI) to end a dispute over unpaid network fees.

AIS stock, which trades at 14.1 times forecast earnings compared with Total Access's 11, fell 7.5 percent in the April-June period, underperforming a 6 percent decline in the main Thai index .SETI. ($1=33.65 Baht) (Reporting by Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Louise Heavens)



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