Focus on customers brings PTC fourfold profit increase

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), operator of the Era GSM mobile telecom network, noted record profits of zl.427.7 million last year, almost four times as much as in 2000. At the same time PTC's market share dropped from 40.5% to 37.8%, which is still enough to give Era the leading position on the Polish market, although Polkomtel, the second biggest operator, managed a net profit of zl.591 million. Analysts also point to other financial indicators, which show that PTC's position is very good indeed. "PTC has the highest EBITDA margin of the three Polish operators and it has the lowest share of non-subscriber customers," says SG securities analyst Magdalena Lapsa. "This is a result of our strategy of primarily focusing on subscription-paying customers, as well as controlling costs. We will not seek to attract new customers at any price," said PTC president Boguslaw Kulakowski. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3, Reuters) T.J.