Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[w0zz]

They define the real 3G world and I think the market is beginning to understand. KDDI (CDMA2000 1X) is literally cleaning DoCoMo's 3G clock (W-CDMA).

NTT DoCoMo plunges 5.8 percent after 3G growth strategy in doubt
Nov 08 2002
TOKYO(AFP) - Shares in Japan's top mobile phone operator
NTT DoCoMo Inc. fell sharply Friday a day after the
company slashed its forecast for subscribers to its
third-generation (3G) system, analysts said.

DoCoMo shares ended the day 14,000 yen or 5.8
percent lower at 227,000 yen in active trading.

The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
lost 229.67 points or 2. 6 percent to end at 8,690.77.

Analysts pointed to the company's lack of a clear
growth strategy, after it cut the year to March 2003
target for its third generation freedom of mobile
multimedia access (FOMA) service handset sales to
320,000 subscribers. It had set subscriber tallies at
1.38 million last October and maintained the forecast
when its full year results were announced in May.

The company booked a net profit of 4.17 billion yen (35
million dollars) in the half year to September, down
sharply from 89.21 billion yen a year earlier, mainly due
to 307.8 billion yen in valuation losses related to
overseas investments.

Pre-tax profit rose 22.3 percent to 628.0 billion yen and
revenue edged up 1.9 percent to 2,384.3 billion yen on
the half year, DoCoMo said Thursday.

Unless DoCoMo maps out a more aggressive growth
strategy, the company is not likely to regain its
reputation as a growth stock, warned Katsuo Hori,
telecoms analyst at BNP Paribas Securities.

"A meaningful rise in the subscriber base for FOMA
services is not likely to take place, especially in a way
which will drive its profit growth, while the PDC (second
generation service) market is maturing," he said.

"We need to see a more clear-cut action strategy from
the company in breaking through such difficult
operating environment."

Hori said he had maintained a "neutral"
recommendation on the stock, because of progress in
cost controls at a time when the overall mobile phone
market is gradually maturing, offsetting the negative
factors of reduced subscriber targets and write-downs.

"It is a positive development that the company is
shifting its priority to profitability from sales volume or
market share, by cutting into the cost structure," he
said.

"Such a move, combined with a wide (second
generation) subscriber base, will enable the company
to continue to achieve stable profit growth, even if the
pace slows down, compared with the rapid-paced profit
rise seen in the past years."

"Given also the recent fall in the share price, DoCoMo is
now considered to be cheaper in comparison to its
overseas peers," he added.

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