Tesco, O2 joint venture racks up USD10m losses

The Irish mobile venture of retail group Tesco and mobile operator O2, Tesco Mobile Ireland, had made a loss of EUR7.3 million (USD10.2 million) by the end of 2008, with the partners having invested a total of EUR8.5 million on the business since its launch in mid-2007. In a filing to the Companies’ Registration Office (CRO), the unit reported a deficit of EUR7.3 million on its balance sheet as at 31 December 2008, compared with EUR3.1 million a year earlier. Despite the poor performance, the Irish Times reports that the two shareholders ‘have agreed to provide financial support to the company for a period at least until 30 June 2010, to the extent that funds are not otherwise available, to enable the company to meet its obligations as they fall due’. The MVNO’s directors John Paul O’Reilly and Geoff Byrne believe the unit will have adequate funding for its operating requirements for this period.