BANJA LUKA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), July 31 (SeeNews) - Bosnia’s Telekom Srpske said on Tuesday it increased its consolidated net profit to 51.1 million marka ($32.2 million/26.1 million euro) in the first half of 2012 from 49.7 million marka a year earlier.
Operating income rose to 235.2 million marka through June from 230.5 million marka a year ago, while operating costs increased to 176.6 million marka from 174.7 million marka, the company said in its consolidated half-year report sent to the Banja Luka Stock Exchange.
Telekom Srpske's fixed-line subscribers on a consolidated basis in the Serb Republic fell 2.2% to 313,000 by the end of June compared with end-December while its mobile subscribers edged down to 1,370,563 at the end of the first half from 1,377,769 at end-December. The company's internet subscribers rose 4.6% to 147,599 at end-June compared with six months earlier.
Telekom Srpske is the second-largest telecommunications company in Bosnia. It is majority-owned by Serbian state-controlled Telekom Srbija and has clients mainly in Bosnia’s Serb Republic, which forms Bosnia together with the Muslim-Croat Federation.
Bosnia, a country of 3.8 million, has two other telecoms companies, both state-controlled: HT Mostar and BH Telecom, the biggest of the three. They operate in the Federation.
(1 euro=1.95583 Bosnian marka)