Vivo Participacoes S.A. (VIV)

[BSWB]

UPDATE 1-Brazil mobile provider Vivo flips to profit
Thu Feb 8, 2007 7:59am ET
Market View
VIV (Vivo Participacoes SA )
Last: $4.18
Change: +0.12 (+2.96%)
Revenue (ttm): $4,772.8M
EPS: -0.36
Market Cap: $6,028.05M
Time: 4:03pm ET



Stock Details
Company Profile
(Recasts, adds tax credits, wireless users)

SAO PAULO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Vivo Participacoes (VIV.N: Quote, Profile , Research) (VIVO4.SA: Quote, Profile , Research), Brazil's leading wireless provider, posted on Thursday its first quarterly profit after six consecutive quarters of losses by taking advantage of tax credits at a unit.

Vivo, a joint venture owned by Portugal Telecom (PTC.LS: Quote, Profile , Research) and Spain's Telefonica Moviles (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile , Research), posted fourth quarter net income of 885.6 million reais ($423 million) compared with a year-earlier loss of 263.3 million reais.

The results benefited from 740 million reais in income tax credits at the Vivo SA unit, formerly called Global Telecom SA, and also 136 million reais in credits for social programs taxes. In October Vivo merged 13 operating units under Global Telecom and renamed it Vivo SA.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a measure of cash flow known as EBITDA, rose to 857.6 million reais from 650.1 million reais a year earlier.

Vivo started in August to build a new 1 billion-real wireless network in a bid to offer similar services and cheaper phones compared with rivals TIM Participacoes (TCSL4.SA: Quote, Profile , Research) and Claro, a unit of Mexico's America Movil (AMXL.MX: Quote, Profile , Research).

The company ended 2006 with 29.053 million clients, losing 752,000 clients from the fourth-quarter of 2005. Its market share fell to 38.2 percent in the fourth-quarter from 44.2 percent a year earlier.

($1 = 2.093 reais)


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