Life begins after re-branding
Following two years of financial losses, Telecom Szeptel SA has re-branded and debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange as MNI SA.
The company, until recently a local phone operator in eastern Poland, finally managed to end the year in the black. Last year saw its revenues rise by 91 percent against 2003's figures to zł.35 million. Net profits reached zł.5 million after two consecutive years in the red. MNI's situation revived from rock-bottom results in 2002 (a zł.9 million net loss) and its creditors calling for the company's bankruptcy in 2003. Some analysts were concerned that the then Szeptel shares were subject to speculation and warned that the company was not implementing its announced business plans.
The current president of MNI SA, Mariusz Pilewski, who was appointed in March 2003, described these cases as "stumbles on the trading floor" and proudly announced that the company had come to terms with creditors. The enormous debt, previously valued at zł.50 million, was reduced to zł.14 million.
From January 1, 2005 MNI SA acquired Media Net Interactive and started offering premium-type SMS and MMS services for mobile phones. These include news services, image transfers and interactive competitions for phone users. In fact, last year's net income was to a large extent generated by Media Net Interactive.
"We have managed to save the company from the abyss," says Pilewski.
The new brand means a change of strategy for MNI. Its managers plan to keep the telephone services offered locally, but their main attention will be focused on additional telecommunication services, such as premium SMS and a recently developed call center. This is because traditional voice transmission is expected to create less and less revenue.
"Right now, non-voice telecommunication is worth $8-10 [zł.25-31] billion in Europe alone," says vice-president of MNI, Leszek Kułak. In his opinion, company growth mirroring the Polish market growth would translate to good results for the company.
The company, until recently a local phone operator in eastern Poland, finally managed to end the year in the black. Last year saw its revenues rise by 91 percent against 2003's figures to zł.35 million. Net profits reached zł.5 million after two consecutive years in the red. MNI's situation revived from rock-bottom results in 2002 (a zł.9 million net loss) and its creditors calling for the company's bankruptcy in 2003. Some analysts were concerned that the then Szeptel shares were subject to speculation and warned that the company was not implementing its announced business plans.
The current president of MNI SA, Mariusz Pilewski, who was appointed in March 2003, described these cases as "stumbles on the trading floor" and proudly announced that the company had come to terms with creditors. The enormous debt, previously valued at zł.50 million, was reduced to zł.14 million.
From January 1, 2005 MNI SA acquired Media Net Interactive and started offering premium-type SMS and MMS services for mobile phones. These include news services, image transfers and interactive competitions for phone users. In fact, last year's net income was to a large extent generated by Media Net Interactive.
"We have managed to save the company from the abyss," says Pilewski.
The new brand means a change of strategy for MNI. Its managers plan to keep the telephone services offered locally, but their main attention will be focused on additional telecommunication services, such as premium SMS and a recently developed call center. This is because traditional voice transmission is expected to create less and less revenue.
"Right now, non-voice telecommunication is worth $8-10 [zł.25-31] billion in Europe alone," says vice-president of MNI, Leszek Kułak. In his opinion, company growth mirroring the Polish market growth would translate to good results for the company.
