Irish telecoms company Smart Telecom forecast strong progress for 2005 as it announced 97 per cent revenue growth to €24.9 million for the year to December 2004.
Smart's traditional business - wholesale line rental/carrier, pre-select residential telephony, payphone and prepaid card activities - saw strong progress last year and residential customers now exceed 70,000.
The group, which listed on AIM last summer, increased gross profits to €6.8 million from €4.9 million.
Rising administration costs led to an increase in operating losses to €8.1 million from €4.5 million. Pre-tax losses widened to €10.7 million to €8.3 million.
Smart attributed the increased loss to new strategic initiatives undertaken last year that required recruitment of key telecommunications personnel and marketing expenses.
The company also announced a new residential broadband offering. Smart says the new service will have no monthly line rental for the first 100,000 customers and a fixed monthly cost of €35 for 2MB.
Smart plans to deliver this service by unbundling the local loop between local telephone exchanges and residential homes.