Interim result reflects solid performance

Interim result reflects solid performance

10 March 2004 - BCL Managing Director Geoff Lawson said BCL's solid performance in the last half of last year is reflected in a pleasing result for the period.

TVNZ today announced its FY2004 Interim Result for the period 1 July to 31 December 2003. The organisation recorded a net profit after taxation of $27.6 million for the period, an increase of $4.7 million year on year.

The result includes a net profit after taxation of $7.2 million generated by TVNZ's former transmission business, which includes BCL. This represents an increase of $2.8 million on the previous year.

On 31 December 2003 the transmission business was formally separated from TVNZ to become a new state-owned enterprise Transmission Holdings Limited (THL). THL subsidiaries include Broadcast Communications Limited (BCL) and THL (Australia) Pty Limited.

Mr Lawson said the numbers underlined a good result for BCL, with new revenue from major network deployments coming on stream.

"Our traditional FM radio and television transmission business continues to perform well, with the opening up of the upper FM band and both radio and television broadcasters expanding services into more areas," he said.

The period also marked the launch of BCL's EXTEND broadband wireless access network, designed to bring the benefits of high-speed Internet access to thousands of farms, schools, homes and businesses in rural and provincial New Zealand for the first time.

Mr Lawson said the wholesale nature of the EXTEND network means it can open up new opportunities for retail service providers.

"As well as being the only broadband infrastructure available in many provincial and rural areas, EXTEND promotes competition because any telco or Internet service provider can access the network based on the same terms and conditions," he said.

About BCL BCL, the state-owned wireless communications company, originated in 1925 and today provides broadcast transmission services to most national and regional FM radio stations and television broadcasters in New Zealand.

The company also runs the Wellington-based Maritime Operations Centre on behalf of the Maritime Safety Authority and provides essential backhaul and co-location services to a range of telecommunications companies including Telecom, TelstraClear and Vodafone.

BCL also provides New Zealand's only nationwide wholesale wireless broadband access network, world-class specialist consulting and engineering services plus network operations, monitoring and maintenance for some of New Zealand's largest telecommunications providers.

ENDS

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