Companhia Portuguesa Radio Marconi SA is looking for overseas partners to enter into share-exchange agreements or joint ventures, Reuter reports from Lisbon. We want a shareholder who could accelerate Marconi’s development and bring us new markets, chairman Goncalo Sequeira Braga told the news wire. Marconi already has joint ventures with Telefonica de Espana SA, France Telecom and AT&T Co, but reckons that the market has undervalued Marconi, which has a monopoly on international telephone lines out of Portugal. Last year it saw a 15.5% fall in net profits to $60m profits on the back of a cut in tariffs, the loss of substantial fiscal incentives and a $130m investment programme.Sequira Braga declined to forecast 1992 results, but said the same factors would prevail. Everything will be influenced by a strong reduction in charges, introduced in March, and by additional expenses resulting from the rise in value-added tax to 16% from 8%. He added that despite Marconi’s domestic monopoly it had cut charges by up to 20% in March and planned further reductions for the last quarter of 1992. Sequeira Braga said Marconi was investing between $80m and $95m this year, continuing a four-year programme to modernise its network and diversify into areas such as financial services and software. Most of the funds will go towards the cost of laying submarine cables – this year new cables are to go down between Portugal and Africa and between South Africa and Madeira and the Canary Islands. Additional cables from the Virgin Islands carrying traffic from the US, Brazil and the rest of Latin America are planned for 1994.
