The 3 Group reported its first EBIT profit in 2010, at HKD 2.93 billion, versus a loss of HKD 8.92 billion a year earlier. The company said it was EBIT positive in the second half of the year, with all operations apart from Ireland posting a positive result in the period. The result was also helped by one-time gains of HKD 6.0 billion in the UK for its network-sharing agreement with T-Mobile and HKD 1.5 billion in Italy on a change in spectrum rights, offset by HKD 3.7 billion in provisions for the network restructuring the UK. The mobile operator, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, saw its revenues grow 10 percent in local currencies and 11 percent on a reported basis, to HKD 64.21 billion in the full year 2010. The group's customer base increased 13 percent during the year and numbered 29.667 million as of 28 March. The base includes 6.0 million mobile broadband access customers, a 32 percent increase from a year earlier. ARPU, on a 12-month trailing average active customer
basis, fell by 5 percent last year to EUR 29.67, mainly due to cuts in interconnection and roaming rates as well as the higher proportion of mobile broadband customers. Hutchison Whampoa said it expects the 3 Group to continue to report positive EBIT.
