Fixed line incumbent telco Telecom Argentina has reported that its net profit for the quarter ended 31 December 2009 more than tripled compared to the same period a year earlier to ARS399 million (USD103 million), on the back of increased revenue from data and voice services.

Net profit for full year 2009 increased 46% year-on-year to ARS1.4 billion, while annual revenue reached ARS12.2 billion, an increase of 15% from ARS10.6 billion in 2008. Turnover for 4Q09 totalled ARS3.37 billion, climbing 19% from ARS2.82 billion in the year-ago quarter. At 31 December 2009 Telecom Argentina reported 4.36 million fixed lines in service, up 2% year-on-year, while broadband customers stood at 1.22 million, an increase of 19% compared to end-2008. Meanwhile, the telco’s mobile division, Personal, ended the year with a total of 16.28 million wireless subscribers, 1.8 million of which were customers of Personal’s Paraguayan unit Nucleo.

Around 69% of Argentine subscribers were pre-paid users. Telecom Argentina’s CAPEX for 2009 totalled ARS1.69 billion, up 6% compared to the previous year; the fixed line business received ARS803 million and mobile telephony the remainder. The company plans to invest just over ARS2 billion in 2010 to improve its 3G network.