HTCC-Hungarotel hit by forint devaluation

Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corporation (HTCC), the US owner of local operator Hungarotel, reported a net loss of USD1.1 million for the first six months of 2003, blaming a foreign exchange loss on the devaluation of the forint of USD6.3 million for the fall. In Q2 the net loss was USD1.4 million, down from a profit of USD5.5 million the previous year. HTCC holds 25-year concessions to provide services in five Hungarian regions. The telco operates nearly 197,000 lines serving 668,000 customers.